Reading Tall Tales: Mahou Mafia Tutor
by Joshua's Tall Tales
Summary: I've recently become obsessed with these and decided, why not? Characters from Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and Negima! Magister Negi Magi reading/watching the fic Mahou Mafia Tutor. Nothing more to say.
1. Introduction

**There's almost certainly too big a cast for this, but Fuck It, let's do this.**

 **Reactor Cast from Canon:**

 **Mahora Group:** 24

 **Time:** Last Day of Festival, Chao Lingshen has just faded into nothingness,lined doesn't know about magic

 **Ala Alba:** Asuna Kagurazaka, Haruna Saotome, Konoka Konoe, Kū Fei, Setsuna Sakurazaki, Negi Springfield, Evangeline A.K. McDowell, Nodoka Miyazaki, Yue Ayase, Kaede Nagase, Kotarou Inugami, Chachamaru Karakuri, Chisame Hasegawa, Kazumi Asakura

 **Mahora Teachers:** Takamichi Takahata, Shizuna Minamoto, Toko Kuzunoha, Seruhiko

 **Everyone sucked/involved Magic World:** Yuna Akashi, Ako Izumi, Akira Okouchi, Mana Tatsumiya, Misora Kasuga, Chao Lingshen

 **Mafia Group:** 21

 **Time:** Inheritance Arc, mere days after Vongola meets Shimon, long before the betrayal and Daemon Spade

 **10th Generation, Arcobaleno, Bianchi, Fuuta, I Pin, Enma, Adelheid, Gamma, Hana Kurokawa, Haru, Kyoko**

 **DON'T SKIP FIRST CHAPTER, IT'S STORY IN ITSELF**

 **Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, just the disturbing situations I put them in**

"Why do I have to do it!" Tsuna hissed aloud to his tutor, already knowing the answer

Tsunayoshi Sawada had experienced some crazy things in his life to date; getting kidnapped by Yakuza, fighting a giant water absorbing turtle, fighting a group of magical fire wielding assassins, time travel!

But as of right now this was certainly ranking in the top five

Without word or warning he and his friends had woken up in an endless white void, and yes it was as scary as it sounded. Where they dead, was this some crazy Mafia thing, if so why was poor Kurokawa here, why couldn't he feel his Flames, why was Enma and Suzuki here- yeah, they were mafia too, but in the three or four days they'd known each other, Enma never gave off the impression that his Famiglia was particularly involved in big things-, just what the heck was going on?!

But most of all what he wanted to know was, who were the group of middle school girls and teachers and who was the guy off to the side hunched over a ball of light.

Instincts told him it was the larger group of intimidating and pretty looking girls that were the lesser threat, and right now Reborn was as always trying to force him into the leadership position.

"Because you're the Boss Dame-Tsuna" he knew that would be the answer

Instead of complaining, Tsuna gulped nervously and slowly made his way to them, Gokudera, Yamamato, Onii-san, and Reborn at his side.

Seeing him approach, the other group broke their own conversation and several stepped forward to greet them.

"Pardon me, but you wouldn't happen to know what's going on, would you?" a little boy with red hair and glasses, stepped forward speaking for the rest, surprisingly

"Ah no" Tsuna answered before giving them some info, "We were just about to ask you, we're students from Nami Middle"

"Mahora girls academy" the brown haired one with a side ponytail, answered in a stoic voice eyeing them sharply

Gulping at her intense stare, Tsuna averted his eyes to where the man hunched over the ball of cosmic light was

"So, I guess that means we have to ask him huh?" he said acknowledging the elephant in the room

"That would probably be the most prudent course of action" the little boy nodded unphased

"Great" Tsuna muttered

Both groups shuffled over

"Um, hello" Tsuna tentatively asked trying to get attention of the huddled man, not entirely sure if he should distract him from his… glowing orb? "Hello?"

With a jerk the figure, broke his gaze and turned to look at the brunette teenager; the suddenness of the movement making him and several of the kids behind him jump

Trying not to squirm under the bright silver and orange rimmed eyes, Tsuna gave a nervous wave

"H-hi, w-we were j-just wondering if you could tell us, um… what's going on?" Tsuna eventually got out

The man looked at Tsuna blankly for a long moment making him shift from foot to foot nervously; the man's stare was _unnerving_.

"Oi, answer the Tenth when he talks to you!" Gokudera barked from behind him, being the kind of person that reacted to tension with anger; he was immediately elbowed in the ribs by his sister

 **"Did you make introductions?"** the man suddenly asked in a deep voice, not once taking his eyes from Tsuna's

"…Introductions?" Tsuna asked after a moment, taken off guard by the way the man's voice echoed not just aloud, but _in his head_

Blinking lazily the… _being_ … responded

 **"I'm told that you carbon organisms need to make connections… when put in long term proximity with others of your species."** The Being elaborated, **"Did you make introductions?"**

"Uuuh…" Tsuna paused and met the glance of the orange haired pig tailed girl who was standing next to him; neither one of them really knew what to do, but he could tell from the crossing of her arms and the scowling of her face, that she was seconds away from a Gokudera-level scream off if she didn't get answers _fast_.

Thankfully someone else read the signs and decided to step forward

"Negi Springfield" the short auburn-haired boy stepped up, bowing pleasantly; he even had the gall to wear a pleasantly curious smile as he did so, "What is your name?"

Unlike before when Gokudera spoke, the Being's eyes immediately spun to focus on the young boy, making his Ministra (and Ayaka) bristle protectively

 **"I have no name… that can be comprehended by your three-dimensional mind"** the Being easily replied, not _rudely_ , but with the air of acknowledging a simple statement of fact

When Negi went to speak again, the girl with pig tails slid in front of him, arms crossed; an action Gokudera and Yamamato copied instinctually with Tsuna, and Adelheid with Enma

"If you weren't going to tell us your name, then why did you bother asking for introductions?" she growled

Once more the Being didn't turn to acknowledge the girl, and before she could snap and set the conversation in an irreversibly violent direction, Tsuna stepped forward between his Rain and Storm and repeated the question.

As expected, the Being answered

 **"I did not mean to introduce yourselves to me… I already know who you are…"** he spoke slowly, his words and tone sending shivers through their spines **"I meant to each other… you will be the ones keeping each other company…"**

As the pig tailed girl grumbled at his rudeness in not answering her, Negi leaned around her to question the Being curiously. ( _Still somehow unphased, though to be fair Tsuna wasn't exactly freaking out himself_ )

"I think we would all be more willing to cooperate Mr. Being if you could tell us what's going on, and why we need to introduce ourselves." The kid sounded out reasonably, impressing Tsuna, he wouldn't have thought to phrase his question like that

To the general relief of the room, the Being seemed to seriously contemplate the question

 **"There is a problem in the space time continuum"** the Being finally answered, **"The Primus Subjects… needed to be excavated… from their universe, to accommodate the changes that need to be made."**

"Does this have something to do with Trissinette?" Tsuna asked, connecting just enough dots to make a guess, when the Being nodded Tsuna felt his heart sink even as his friends exploded into mutters

"Ugh! Start speaking plainly, none of this makes sense!" Pig Tails, the apparent designated speaker of the other group, exploded; when the Being ignored her _again_ , she snapped again, "And why do you only answer those two!?"

Turning to him with a look that promised pain, she pointed an accusing finger at him

"You! You know something about what's going on with this Trissy-whatsits!" cracking her knuckles she took a step forward, "Start talking?"

"Hiie, I don-" Tsuna started to answer before he was pushed out the way by a royally _pissed_ Gokudera

"Oi, who are you threatening the Tenth?" the silver haired boy in a deadly growl, stepping forward to meet the girl with his own threatening presence

"Wait please/Don't fight!" Negi and Tsuna panicked trying to real in their more aggressive friends

"Tenth?" the girl said condescendingly ignoring small arms pulling her back, "What are you all some wannabe Yakuza?"

"Kufufufu, Yakuza?" Mukuro laughed darkly, clearly angry and ignoring his own pair of small arms trying to stop him "little girl please don't compare me to such trash."

"Mukuro-sama please stop" Chrome pleaded, trying to intercede

"Who are you threatening their pineapple?" the blonde girl who'd known Tsuna, Ayaka, said stepping in between them

Interestingly, rather than escalate the tension everyone of the Vongola people froze

"Snrk, pineapple" Hibari Kyoya broke first

Somehow the fact that it was _Hibari freaking Kyoya_ that started it, was enough that everyone of the Vongola started giggling surprising the Mahora crowd at how quickly they'd gone from calm, to ready to fight, to laughing

"Do you all want to die?" Mukuro hissed, not even adding his trademark 'Kufufufu'

"These people are weirdos" Chisame muttered, getting some agreeing ( _hypocritical_ ) nods

"Lets not get off subject" Takahata called, stepping in before things could get violent again, "We were talking about the space time continuum?"

At the words of an adult authority figure most of the young teens calmed down, apart from some of the Vongola's who glared mutinously, but otherwise kept their peace.

Asuna in particular, seemed to find her shoes interesting, still smarting from the sort of rejection the older man had given her a few days ago

To their surprise the Being actually responded to his words

 **"Your futures have been thrown off course"** The Being spoke, it's eyes resting on Chao Lingshen, whose smile suddenly looked far more nervous even as her friends moved in supportively, **"Your companion's… altering the time stream, has… had far more dire consequences than intended."**

At his words, several people followed his eyes to the squirming sheepish looking Lingshen

"Ha ha ha, whoops?" the foreign exchange student laughed rubbing the back of her head

"Wait, wait, wait" Makie said waving her hands, still trying to wrap her mind around everything that happened, "Are you saying Chao-san is a-"

"Time traveler?" Akira interrupted, "Yup, we already figured that out actually"

"Time traveler!" those not in the know screamed

"Impossible"

"I don't believe it"

"How?"

"That's pretty cool, aru"

"Do they have flying cars in the future?"

"Wait, Makie that's what your concerned about?"

"Oooh, we can ask questions, wouldn't that break the universe or something?"

"Apparently the universe is already broken"

"Who do I marry!?"

"Seriously, that's what you people focus on!?"

"Forget that, who does Negi-sensei marry!"

At the final exclamation, a dead silence hit, as every single girl focused on the transfer student with laser sharp focus, while the poor girl backed away slowly from their scary looks

"Let's all just calm down now" Chao pleaded, still backing away, before Takahata once more interceded, this time standing in between the crazed teenage girls and his ex-student

"Girls, focus" he admonished as they backed down… for now

"Weirdos" Gokudera muttered to the laughter and agreement of the Vongola crowd, making Tsuna sweat drop at his friends' hypocrisy

"You said something about dire consequences and the Trissinette" Reborn said piping up from his position, suddenly appearing on Tsuna's shoulder. To his credit the young boy didn't even flinch

For a moment it seemed that Reborn was one of the ones the Being was going to ignore, but instead it turned its eyes up as if contemplating how to phrase it's answer before sighing and beginning a long explanation

 **"You all know about the… multiverse, right?"** it asked

"No" most of the Mahora crew and the Shimon answered

"Yes" the Vongola's, Arcobaleno, and the teachers answered at the same time

Sighing at the dissonance the Being continued

 **"There is a theory, you carbon based life forms have… that with every decision you make… a parallel universe is created… with both worlds carrying on with two different outcomes… of the decision creating an infinite number of worlds"** the Being explained, only continuing when he saw the learned members explain to those who were still confused **, "that's wrong… reality of this plane can only hold… several trillion universes at a time… just as many worlds are destroyed as created at any given time…. … … … … … … … … … … … … … but that's not important… At the center of all these timelines… is a Primus, the original, the world from which all worlds trace their root back to."**

The Being stopped and looked at them, seeing they were following along he continued

 **"Both of your groups… are from two different Primus Universes"** the Being dropped

"So… we're the original timelines that all others come from?" Negi asked, already trying to put together several theories of how Chao's time travel could have possibly interfered with that; was time traveling and changing a Primus world like making dents on what was essentially the main mast of space time continuum?

Unknown to him, Tsuna was having similar thoughts, which he voiced

"But, me and my friends have time traveled before and changed the course of our own timelines" Tsuna spoke up, not denouncing but questioning the Being's information. Focused on the situation he didn't see the proud looks of his friends at his intelligent question, or the shocked ones of the Mahora group, especially that of Chao Lingshen

"You guys have time traveled before?" Lingshen asked surprised

Tsuna, upon seeing so many young girls looking at him in surprise an awe, immediately went red and started rubbing the back of his head

"Um, kind of? It wasn't that big a deal" he said keeping his eyes on the ground, missing the stupefied looks of the Mahora girls. He didn't, however, miss the smack on the head from Reborn

"Speak clearly Dame-Tsuna, a boss doesn't answer so meekly" the tiny hitman admonished

"Such a strict tutor you are Arcobaleno-san" Mukuro chuckled, while the Mahora group stared at the sight of a teenager being manhandled by a baby

 **"That's part of the problem"** the Being spoke, answering his last question and ignoring the brief byplay, at his voice the others immediately quieted down, **"Your world was an unstable… a newly made construct… that collided with theirs, years too early… and in a way that was very, _very_ unsafe for the universe."**

Leaning back and closing his eyes as if searching for a memory, the Being pointed his finger at Negi

 **"Negi Springfield, a child prodigy and a mage training to be a Magister Mage with the ultimate goal of finding his missing father, is transferred to a magical school in Japan from Wales to be an English teacher of a group of extraordinary young women. There he created bonds and relationships through a series of strange and dangerous adventures, growing stronger and stronger, eventually saving his world at one point and becoming one of the world's greatest heroes."**

While the Mahora group was left reeling over that bit of information, Negi in particular squirming at having his life so plainly thrown into the open- particularly the magic aspect, the Being pointed his finger at Tsuna who flinched

 **"Tsunayoshi Sawada, a useless student"** the Being started getting another flinch from Tsuna and glares from his friends, **"is the last blood descendent of the most powerful mafia family in the world. He is sent the World's Greatest Hitman Reborn as his tutor; soon after he creates bonds and relationships with classmates and enemies alike, undergoing a series of strange and dangerous adventures growing stronger and stronger, eventually becoming an Anti-Hero who keeps the underworld in check. Neither a force for good nor a force of evil."**

The Being dropped his pointing fingers, uncaring of the stunned silence that had pervaded the room

 **"Those are your stories"** The Being finished, before adding with an almost sad caveat **"…or at least that's what they should be"**

"So, what went wrong?" Negi asked, apparently trying to brush past the very large bombs the Being just dropped

"Woah, woah, woah" Akira halted, "Magic" she turned to Negi who rubbed the back of his head, "Criminals" Tsuna looked away, "Is everybody crazy, who all knew about this!?"

"I'd like to know that too" Hana Kurokawa said accusing, even as she backed away from them, grabbing Kyoko with her

"Hana" Kyoko muttered sadly

"No Kyoko" Hana shook her head, "Not this time, I'm not letting this go, their criminals!"

Her sharp tone made Kyoko and Tsuna flinch and cut through the Mahora group's own drama of 'who knew magic existed', as they turned towards the Vongola group wearily.

They certainly didn't _look_ criminal, with a bunch of babies (no matter how disturbingly articulate) and being led by a baby-faced teenager

"Hana…" Kyoko said pulling away from the taller girl, "they're good people, and Onii-san is with them, and you know he would never-"

"You knew" Hana state flatly interrupting Kyoko's defense, not a question just a cold fact (…and maybe a hint of betrayal) "You knew this whole time and you never said… you knew what they were and you- When you went missing a few weeks ago in the forest, that was them!?"

Staring at her friend, Kyoko didn't answer, she didn't need to

"What were you doing in the forest, burying bodies!?" Hana snapped, fear and worry coming out as anger, and not caring for the affects of her harsh words

"NO!" Tsuna yelled finally stepping forward, "No, we weren't doing anything like that! Kurokawa-san we-"

"Not this time you mean" the irate girl hissed venomously

"And even if we were?" Gokudera spoke in a low dangerous tone, tired of the girl's harmful words towards his boss, "What does it matter to you what we do, are you going to try and stop us?"

The tone of his voice made it clear that his question was very much intended as a threat

 ** _Crunsh_**

Gokudera, looked up from the ground with a bloody nose to where oddly serious Ryohei stood with his fist out

"Apologize, Octopus head" the boxer _ordered_

For a moment the silver haired boy looked mutinous and Ryohei looked like he was going to take another swing, but Yamamato stepped between them

"Enough" the baseball players eyes were cold and sharp, taking in both men, going first to Ryohei then Gokudera "We discuss this later, internal problems aren't for wandering ears and eyes."

It was an echo of what Future Xanxus had told Byakuran after their battle of the Milliefiore base in the future; whatever their internal struggle, Vongola stood together, this was not the time or place

"Kurokawa is our friend" Tsuna spoke, his soft sad voice cutting through the tension like pouring boiling water on ice, "We don't treat our friends like that Gokudera."

Looking down with a guilty flush, the delinquent teen deeply bowed to the pale Hana

"My apologies Kurokawa Hana, that was unbecoming of me, and disrespectful to a member of our family" he apologized solemnly

"I- I'm not part of your group" Hana coughed a second later when she found her voice, but she didn't say it with anger.

"You are to us" Tsuna said earnestly, holding the girl's gaze with a sincere one of his own, before she was the one to look away rubbing her arm. Quietly Tsuna turned his attention back to the Being, "I'm sorry for interrupting, you were telling us about Primus worlds."

At his words there was a brief stir of mutters as both groups filed away what they'd seen; the anger in the atmosphere, depleted to something more exhausted and solemn.

 **"As you already said, your group was involved with a bout of time travel"** the Being continued completely unaffected by the byplay, **"Ten years after your current forms, the Horizontal Sky went mad; for those who don't know, the Horizontal Sky has the ability to look into and trade information with his various parallel selves and he started to destroy those worlds by the thousands."**

"That's terrible" Negi exclaimed, his colleagues looking grim, while his students looked just as horrified,

 **"It was, we almost lost an entire category of worlds at once"** the Being nodded, incorrectly empathizing with their horror at the wrong thing, **"That's when this group came in."**

He gestured to the current Vongola's who looked unsurprised by the information drop as the rest of the room turned their attention to them

 **"Less than a thousandth of a percent chance of success… they're future selves concocted a plan… to bring their younger selves to the future… and safe all of their realities."** The Being explained, **"Those of us in charge of… monitoring such activity… allowed such tampering… as the protectors and bearers of the Trissinette. Upon their one in several trillion success… their universe became… the new Primus of that spectrum. Something that has never happened before… and as such made their universe very fragile to certain time travel interferences."**

As he spoke his eyes turned to the squirming Chao Lingshen

 **"Enter time traveling interference"** he gestured to the sheepish girl, **"Her… particular method of traveling… left some… damages… to your, what is supposed to be Primus, world. Your two worlds were always meant to intersect at some point… but the fragility of both worlds caused the creation of a third never planned for Primus to suddenly be born… forcing its way into space that… simply doesn't exist. Hence your presence here."**

His piece said the Being finally turned back his full attention to the glowing orb in his hand, but not before telling his final bit of info dump.

 **"We needed the core members of both worlds… out of the time stream, so we could… effectively make the necessary changes… for the newest universe to live, though… several of you who… aren't important… grabbed on to the ones who are when… they felt their friends disappearing…. We'll put you back when we're done."**

"And" Shizuna said speaking up for the first time (gaining several men's attention) after a long enough moment of silence had passed and it was clear the Being wouldn't continue, "How long will that take exactly."

 **"There is no time here"** the Being answered its attention on the orb, **"but for your minds to process that… without imploding at what it considers an impossibility… a few days perhaps, or weeks."**

"Weeks!?" getting screams from the teenagers

"That seems like a lot of time for us to just be waiting around" Shizuna cautiously input, it occurred to her that as one of the people it had given an actual answer to, she might be one of the so called 'important ones' that 'they' grabbed out of the timestream; that being said, she was weary of upsetting such a clearly powerful being.

 **"If you are worried… for the effects your absence will have… on your worlds, worry not… we'll put you back within seconds… after we took you."** It appeased, once more not _quite_ empathizing with their true concerns, but it was close enough

"Wished we had that when we left our timeline the first time eh Tsuna?" Yamamato commented getting equally relieved nods from his friends, remembering his old man's worry the first time they'd disappeared to the future

"Okaaaaay" a red-haired girl drawled, "but what are we supposed to _do_ , here, right now?"

Once more the Being ignored them, letting them know she wasn't an "important" one, much to the girl's ire, before her teacher repeated the question for her, though significantly more politely

 **"Have you made introductions?"** the Being repeated its earlier question, stumping the rest of the room

"Well I suppose we might as well" Negi spoke up, "My name is Negi Springfield, I'm an English teacher at Mahora Middle and…" here he paused to look at some of the girls, "… as was already stated I am a Mage in training."

The boy flushed at the amazed/incredulous looks from both groups; Tsuna, reminded of a similar situation with Enma not even a week before, decided to step up

"It's nice to meet you Negi-san" Tsuna bowed, not using a child's surname, despite how mature he looked in a suit, "My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada a pleasure."

Before he could continue, he was bopped on the back of the head by Reborn, landing on his head

"Dame-Tsuna didn't mention, he is the Tenth Heir to the Vongola Mafia Famiglia, a former vigilante group, turned global syndicate" Reborn continued, he wouldn't ordinarily include so much information, but it was clear he needed to start this on friendly terms

"Ouch Reborn, I already told you I'm not going to be a Mafia Boss!" Tsuna snapped, but a sharp foot to the back of the head cut him off

"Don't talk back to your tutor Dame-Tsuna" he chastised

"That's his tutor, he's a baby!" Asuna barked, looking put off

"Aren't you taught by a ten-year old" Yamamato laughed, while she flushed

"S-shut up, this and that are two different things!"

"How is a baby manhandling him in the first place!?" Chisame agreed, right on the same skeptical train as Asuna

"He's a demon in human form" Tsuna muttered, unmindful of his self-preservation; only to immediately pay for it when the 'demon' put him in an arm bar

"The rest of you introduce yourselves" Reborn ordered, unmindful of his student's screams

"Hayato Gokudera, the Tenth's Storm Guardian, and most valued right-hand man!" Gokudera said stepping forward

"Self-Proclaimed" Yamamato coughed interrupting before the other boy could go on a long tangent, getting a dark glare from the Storm, while some of the girls muttered at the 'Storm Guardian'.

"Ryohei Sasagawa, EXTREME Sun Guardian! You look like some EXTREME ladies! Join the boxi-mmf"

"Yo Takeshi Yamamato, Tsuna's Rain Guardian." Yamamato cheerily greeted, stuffing his sempai's mouth. Tsuna appreciated that, even as again some of the girls picked up on the Guardian title

"Introduce yourself Lambo" the small girl said pushing the cow themed child forward

"Bwahahah, I am the Great Lambo-sama, bow to me slaves!"

"He's the Lightning Guardian" Yamamato immediately brushed off, before turning to the less than sociable Guardians left, "Hey, we're introducing Guardians, are you guys going to go?"

"Don't involve me in useless things/Kufufufu I have nothing to do with you mafioso" Mukuro and Hibari answered scornfully

"Kyoya Hibari is the one with the prefect's band, and Rokudo Mukuro is the one with the… red eye" Yamamato hesitating only a moment from pointing out the older boy's pineapple hair, "Their Tsuna's in denial Cloud and Mist Guardians. Oh, and this girl-"

"Chrome Dokuro, Boss's other Mist Guardian" Chrome answered when gestured to

"I pin is I pin, Nihau"

"Fuuta de Stella"

"I am Hayato's big sister Bianchi"

"Reborn, World's Greatest Hitman"

"Do you always have to add that kora? Oh, I'm Colonel, maggots"

"Lal Mirch"

"Mammon"

"The Immortal Skull-sam-! Ow!"

"Shut up lackey"

"Sempai's are so cruel!"

"Tch, Verde, scientist, you say your magic? You wouldn't mind if I ran some experiment- "

"And I'm Yuni Giglio Nero, and this is my beloved Gamma, it's nice to meet you all!" Yuni hurriedly introduced before Verde could upset anyone

"Adelheid Suzuki and Enma Kozato or the Shimon Famiglia" Adelheid said stepping forward before someone else could introduce them, "We're here as guest to the Vongola Inhe- to the Vongola Famiglia"

"Haru Miura, Tsuna's future bride" Haru introduced with a straight face, getting shocked looks from the Mahora girls

"Eeeeh you're getting married!"

"No, he's not! Stop saying stupid things witch!" Gokudera yelled

Haru stared at him for a moment, before calmly wrapping her arms around a flustered Tsuna's arm, sticking her tongue out at the enraged Storm

"Kyoko Sasagawa, I'm Ryohei's imouto, and this is-"

"Hana Kurokawa, yeah I'm sure they heard earlier."

"It's nice to meet all of you-" Negi started to respond, but was interrupted by Asuna

"But what's with all the babies!"

"Their Arcobaleno" Gamma explained, being the closest to the group standing guard his mistress, "the strongest 7 in a generation."

"Them! Their babies!"

"Doesn't make any sense does it" Tsuna groaned, getting another whack to the head

"Right" Negi clapped getting attention before this introduction could get any longer, "Like I said earlier, I'm Negi Springfield and these are my students…"

"Ayaka Yukihiro!" the proud looking blonde girl stepped forward first, "class rep of Negi-sensei's class, member of the equestrian club- "

"And cradle robber" Asuna heckled, getting a burning glare from the blonde, not unlike the interaction between Yamamato and Gokudera earlier

"Natsumi Murakami, one of lincho's roommates" the short mousy girl hurriedly interrupted

"Me as well, Chizuru Naba, a pleasure"

"I'm Kotaro Inugami, I'm a friend of Negi's and I'm staying with these weirdos" a black-haired boy the same age as Negi grinned

"Why you little-!"

"Yue Ayase, Nodoka Miyazaki, and Haruna Satomi, roommates" Yue introduced quickly when she saw 'Paru' as she was affectionately called, gearing up to do something embarrassing

"Kaede Nagase, my roommates aren't here de gozaru" the tall ninja politely introduced

"Mana Tatsumiya" her rival spoke, giving no further information

"Chao Lingshen/ and Ku Fei aru" the two Chinese girls answered together

"I'm Konoka Konoe, this is my roommate and friend Asuna Kagurazaka, and this is my friend Setsuna Sakurazaki, but you can call her Se-chan!" the cheerful brunette said looping her arms with the orange and ponytailed girls

"Yo/ O-ojou-sama!"

"Do I have to? Ow- fine, Chisame Hasegawa, I'm not with the rest of these weirdos"

"Yuna Akashi with Kazumi Asakura, Ako Izumi, Akira Okouchi, and Misora Kasuga"

"If I must, I am Evangeline A.K. McDowell, this is my servant Chachamaru"

"Hello"

"Guess that just leaves us teachers huh, Kenichi Seruhiko, I teach math at Mahora"

"Shizuna Minamoto, guidance counselor at Mahora"

"Kuzunoha"

"Takamichi T. Takahata, I'm an English teacher like Negi, but I now teach the high school section"

"And I think that's everyone" Negi said looking around to check no one had been missed, while members of both groups eyed each other for their similarities, "Now what do we do Mr. Being?"

The Being, for it's part stayed focused on it's orb, but answered nonetheless

 **"You are free to do as you wish… no action is necessary on your part… the universal gap will be fixed in its own time"**

"In case you didn't notice, there's a whole lot of nothing here" Chisame grumbled, and wasn't surprised when her sarcasm was left unanswered

"Perhaps you could tell us where to find provisions while we wait for you to finish your, um, adjusting Mr. Being?" Negi once more stepped in with a sensible course of action, Tsuna was honestly impressed by how put together the young boy was

 **"There is no need for provisions… those aren't your physical bodies… merely a representation"** the Being answered, finally looking up at them again to give a more thought out answer; several of those in the room who had silently complained at the rudeness of his inattention, were suddenly reminded of why they didn't want it, **"Your three dimensional minds cannot process being outside of time… these bodies are just mental images to help you cope… they do not need food or sleep and cannot die… though not so much is taken away that you cannot feel physical sensations…."**

"So, there's nothing for us to do here, at all?" Evangeline summarised, sounding suspiciously whiny for a woman of her true age

To the surprise of the groups and Evangeline's own smugness, the Being considered her one of the ones to respond properly to

 **"If you wish… I can create something for you to amuse yourselves"** the Being offered, not unlike a parent offering a child sweets to make them stop pestering them

"Anything!?"

The Being nodded, and immediately stars filled the eyes of the kids (and Seruhiko-sensei), but before they could get carried away in whatever request Takahata stepped forward

"Before that, can you tell us anything about this new universe being created?" it was important that they at least learned something from this experience, rather than spending several days in what would later probably seem like a lucid dream

"Ugh, that sounds boring Takahata, can't we work later, we'll be here for days" Seruhiko complained, only to get a smack from Kuzunoha

"That's why it's important to get it done now, idiot" Kuzunoha scolded, trying to ignore the all too interested looks of their students at seeing their teachers in a less than professional manner

The Being merely eyed Takahata critically (something that sent shivers up the man's spine) before answering

 **"Your species has been shown such things before… they have a hard time handling such levels of information"** the Being responded almost cautiously

"Then modify it" Reborn all but ordered

"Reborn!" Tsuna, Colonel, and Lal Mirch all hissed

"You're doing the same thing now anyway aren't you" Reborn continued ignoring them, "You're modifying information in a way we can understand, so do that."

Everyone stared at the baby who had the sheer gall to give orders to the extradimensional being, Tsuna covered his eyes and tried not to whimper, _they were so dead!_

 **"Understanding the information is never the problem"** the Being spoke in a grave tone, for the first time not taking long pauses in its speech; the action spoke volumes for how serious it was being, and that scared them, **"Thoughts, emotions, secrets; none are held back when peeking into another world, you lifeforms who value such things cannot handle the invasion of privacy. You break, we want you whole."**

"Don't underestimate my students" was Reborn unhesitant response

…Tsuna would rather die than admit it, but he actually felt warm at Reborn's faith in them, the blushing faces of his friends agreed

"Same for us" Negi stepped forward, determination burning in his eyes

"Them you can underestimate" Reborn immediately rebutted, ruining the moment

"What was that brat!?" Asuna snapped, unconscious of the wide eyes she received from everyone on the Mafia side of the room

"I wouldn't" Takahata said stepping forward placing a hand on Asuna's shoulder, but keeping his eyes on the being

Silver orange eyes traded long stares with sharp tawny and obsidian black

Neither blinked or flinched

 **"… Very well"** the Being eventually relented, and with a snap of it's fingers a second orb of light appeared a few feet from the group, images quickly flashing through it, **"you are free to gaze."**

The more excitable ones quickly rushed forward

"Ugh, this thing's so small you can hardly see" Asakura complained, unable to get her juicy story

"And are we supposed to watch this standing up, with no seats or snacks or anything" Haruna fussed, right there with her

With another snap of fingers, two circles made up several ridiculously plush couches set up colosseum style appeared.

Various sinfully soft looking blankets were folded on them, fold up tables, sugary snacks, drinks, hardier meals, and everything anyone could watch in a viewing experience appeared, while the orb expanded to a large all-inclusive holographic looking image.

It took almost a full minute for jaws to collect themselves from the ground and look to the Being

 **"There have been previous… request made"** the Being answered by way of explanation, before turning back to its own orb, making it clear it was done with them once and for all, **"… when you speak… it will pause…ask questions sparingly."**

Naturally not wanting to sit next to the 'grown ups', the teenagers squished in on separate sides of the circle's bottom seats, some even grabbing blankets and stretching out on the floor for maximum room.

Unconcerned, the teachers and Arcobaleno and Gamma, spread out on the top seats looking down at their students in amusements as they chatted and played as if going to see a movie

Somehow, at the very midpoint of the circle where the two groups met, Tsuna and Negi found themselves sitting side by side, with their friends Kotaro and Enma by their sides. The two exchanged glances as they watched their friends, fight and push, and generally be energetic chaotic messes.

"You too huh" Tsuna asked dryly, and Negi laughed

"I wouldn't have them any other way" the kid responded happily

"Yeah" Tsuna smiled, "Me neither"

Lights dimmed, and sound started

 _"Prologue to Greater Things"_

 **If anyone wants to take over this fic at any time, they're free too. This was much harder than I thought, but I already put too much effort in, so Fuck It let's do this!**


	2. Reading the Prologue

**Why did I start this, honestly I was curious about how my own characters would react to this story. Crazy right?**

' _There were certain beings in this world'_ , one Konoe Konoemon mused to himself as he watched the man sitting in the chair opposite of him, _'that wear power the way an ordinary man might wear a fine tailored coat.'_

* * *

"Hey it's grandpa!" Konoka happily exclaimed; she didn't know why, but something about hearing her grandfather's thoughts in her own head, made her anxious to speak her own thoughts aloud

"The Dean?" Makie asked curiously with a tilt of his head, "What does he have to do with this?"

"Well think about it, he's Konoka's Grandpa" Yuna mused aloud "If Konoka is a mage, then that would mean the dean is like a wise old wizard from the stories."

"Oooooh" most of the girls exclaimed, while Chisame face palmed

"That makes sense, aru" Kū said nodding, "Does Konoka grandpa grant wishes?"

"That's a genie Kū" Kaede informed her pleasantly

"But doesn't that happen in some versions?"

"Are you guys kidding, this isn't some fairy tale!" Chisame grumbled incredulously, before she was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder from Negi, who leaned in and whispered to her

"Actually, Chisame the dean is a wizard, and many of those stories are based off of real life Mages in history." Negi said lowly

"Wait really!?" the girl whisper yelled back wide eyed, before noticing how close the boy was to her and discreetly leaning back, something several people on the "mafia side" of the room noted but otherwise kept silent on. Meanwhile the conversation continued with the other girls.

"So do we need to pass a series of challenges or-?"

"Will you guys shut up!" Asuna finally snapped, "We haven't even made it passed the first minute yet!"

Sheepishly the girls who were talking quieted down

"Finally" Gokudera grumbled audibly

"Ma ma" Yamamato chuckled, "We're not much better Hayato."

"Who told you you could use my firs-"

"That includes you too!" Asuna said turning on the teenage boys

Instantly irritated, Gokudera made to snap back, but a hand on his shoulder and a pleading look from Tsuna made him back off

* * *

Some people were taught from birth through rigorous training to show off their power, their "superiority" over their fellows. Some started from lower stations and painstakingly clawed their way up, imitating what they saw of those successful until they too could stand alongside the privileged few. Then there were those for who were simply born with an almost preternatural instinct to find what made others bend to their whims regardless of background, and that power seeps from them like a scent touching all those who saw them.

' _Which perhaps is why it is so ironic that you as one of the most powerful men in the entire world'_ , for that was _exactly_ who sitting directly across from Konoemon at this very moment, _'seem to exude exactly_ none _of that terrible power at your fingertips.'_

* * *

"Who could he be talking too?" Konoka quietly mused to herself aloud; even before she had been in on the big magic secret, she was aware that there were very few people who her grandfather took as a serious threat. She'd lost count of the men her grandfather had left infuriated as he gazed at them with an unimpressed stare.

Unknown to her, the girls who had been employed by the dean at some point in the past were unconsciously nodding along to her quiet musing, their own thoughts following a similar vain.

* * *

Dressed in a rather simple if expensive brown pin striped suit Timoteo Vongole', better known as **Vongola Nono**

* * *

"Grandpa!?" this time Tsuna was the one to break in with an exclamation, before there was a hard nudge on his head

"Dame-Tsuna, a boss shouldn't be so caught off guard by such simple facts." Reborn admonished as his student rubbed his head piteously, "If there was anyone from our side who would know about this, of course it would be the boss Vongola."

Even still Tsuna and Konoka found themselves exchanging wide eyed looks, a kinship of grandchildren of powerful old men being born.

Meanwhile those who'd never seen the Vongola Boss before were carefully examining the man's appearance, finding it surprisingly… simple for a man of his station

 _'Was this really the boss of the criminal underworld?'_

* * *

the leader of an (somewhat legal) organization both older and significantly more powerful than most of the nations on the western hemisphere; sat directly across him carefully taking in everything around him. Beautiful ( _terrifying_ ) amber orange eyes carelessly flicked across the room with abstract curiosity, seeing far more than ordinary mortal eyes ever could. His body language totally and utterly relaxed, looking more like someone's grandfather popping in to visit an old acquaintance, rather than the powerful near **ruthless** crime lord, who'd ruled unopposed over his empire for the better part of 40 years.

' _In truth, I'm probably far worse'_ Konoemon thought wryly, dressed in a white robe and a pair of slippers, he _really_ looked like someone's retired grandpa out for an early morning walk let alone the head of an ancient and secret organization that was a part of an _even more_ ancient society dwelling in mankind's shadows since its inception. The only thing to ruin their images as a couple of old men catching up (which really, until Timoteo initiated otherwise, they kind of _were)_ were the two lines of fairly dangerous looking men and women behind them both.

Standing behind and to Konoemon's right was **Takamichi Takahata** , hands 'harmlessly' resting in his coat pockets, back leaned against the wall, posture slouched, but tawny eyes shifting with razor awareness. 

On Takamichi's right was Akashi-kun in a similar posture, hands not reaching for, but within grabbing distance of his neatly concealed pistols, Nijuin was to his right.

On Konoemon's left **Toko Kuzunoha** , the only one on Konoemon's side with a visible weapon; though to her credit she kept her arms visibly flat at her sides and off the blade's handle-this was a _peaceful_ meeting after all- her cold eyes watching the men on the other side of the desk with open distrust. To Kuzunoha's left was **Sister Shakti** , blank eyes neither hostile nor accepting, merely observing carefully. Finishing the line was **Gandofini** whom like Kuzunoha didn't try to hide his distrust.

* * *

"Woah, look at all the teachers that are wizards" Makie said in awe as she and the other girls catalogued all the familiar faces, who were apparently apart of a hidden world right under their noses

"Mages, Makie" Nodoka quietly corrected the excitable girl, she was personally more concerned at the casual drop of how dark the criminal boss was implied to be

"Why wasn't I there?" Seruhiko-sensei whined seeing all his friends but him present

"You probably just weren't important enough" Kuzunoha condescendingly patted him on the back while he sulked

"Even the nun?" Setsuna murmured under her breath, remembering a particular embarrassing confessional she'd made not too long ago

"Yuna, are you okay?" Konoka asked concerned, she'd noticed the girl's father and had turned her attention to the other girl in the room who also had been kept in the dark about magical family.

"That that's my Dad?" Yuna let out a stunned whisper like she couldn't quite believe it, her whole focus on the young glasses wearing man; the _armed_ and _dangerous_ looking man

"Wow, he looks pretty serious" Ako spoke a little nervously, having met the man many times by virtue of being Yuna's friend. While she had never really stopped being slightly put off by her friend's obvious dad-complex, she'd always though the man was a very kind and good father, and the face he was making was _very_ intimidating.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room Tsuna gave the teenage girl a long sympathetic look, remembering that moment when an odd dread crept up on him when his father appeared at the Lightning Guardian Battle. When the pieces started to rapidly come together that _yes,_ his father was a part of this awful blood-soaked world, and _yes_ he even had something to do with why they were watching _a five year old_ fight in _death battle_ with a full grown _assassin_.

"You didn't know did you?" he asked quietly meeting Yuna's eyes, making the girl give a stunned shake of the head

Takamichi who had been watching quietly up until that moment decided to speak up on his absent coworker's behalf before darker thoughts could be allowed to take hold.

"It was to my understanding" Takamichi spoke, gaining the room's attention, "that both Akashi-san and his wife were full time mages. However, after your mother's death, Yuuto made the decision to keep you as far away from that world as possible."

His response gained flinches from both teenagers, Yuna at the thought of her barely remembered mother's death, and Tsuna at how easily something like that could have happened to Nana if his father hadn't pushed them away.

When no one else had anything to say to that, they turned their attention back to the center of the room.

* * *

Behind Timoteo were his most trusted, his **Guardian's** he believed they were called.

There was that old war hawk Coyote **"The Storm"** Nougat to Timoteo's right, as always, metal arm crossed and intimidating; the equally surly **"Cloud Guardian"** Visconti to _his_ right and leaning against the wall behind them both was the scarred morose looking figure of Brabanters **"The Rain"** Schnitten.

On Vongole's left was a younger man mid-thirties the spitting image of the late **"Lightning Guard"** Gamauche II, which meant this was likely Gamauche III; the man had an amused smile on his face, the only one other than the two old men in the center who probably felt as relaxed as he looked. To Gamauche's left was a tall tattooed dark-skinned man with soulless pupil-less eyes that could only be Timoteo's **"Guardian of the Mist"** ; Konoemon always was weary of those who bared powers of the illusive Mist from Vongole's corner of the supernatural world. Finally, to the Mist's left was a young man who couldn't be past his early to mid-twenties whom Konoe couldn't place in the slightest, but by process of elimination, meant that he was Timoteo's new **"Guardian of the Sun"**.

* * *

"So those are Nono's guardians?" Tsuna asked curiously, having never seen them personally, even during the battle with Xanxus they hadn't shown up.

"That's right" Reborn answered from the top of his head, "Memorize their faces, these are your predecessors, who hold control over the hundreds of Vongola groups around the world."

Ordinarily Tsuna might protest his succession of a mafia group, but he was focused on memorizing their faces. Aside from the ones called Coyote and Brabanters, most of them seemed pretty ordinary… then again, so did the Ninth.

"Why do they all sound like deserts" Ayaka asked incredulously

"Tradition" was the response given

Tsuna and the Mahora crowd sweat dropped at the ridiculous reason

* * *

He did not miss the symmetry of the fact that his people were dressed in white suits, while Timoteo's wore black.

* * *

Several of the Mafioso snorted derisively

* * *

It had been years since he'd seen all six-weather pattern themed guardians gathered around Tim, but then again the two associates by nature of their jobs did not interact much outside official business. For Timoteo to come himself with his most trusted, _'this was serious business indeed'_ Konoe mused stroking his beard.

At the moment however, the man's attention wasn't on Konoemon or his musings, but rather on his school's nurse/guidance counselor and, for this meeting, personal secretary. Shizuna, bless the young woman, wore her usual pleasant smile, ignoring the rather obvious tension in the room as she handed the Boss of the Criminal Underworld a steaming cup of tea.

"Chamomile tea for you, Mr. Vongole'", she chirped

"Thank you young lady", the elder man accepted with a pleasant grin, rich Italian accent rolling over the words, "your service is much appreciated, as is the great beauty accompanying it."

Shizuna, traitorously in Konoemon's mind, giggled at the small praise. Giggled! He'd showered the woman with far classier compliments than that only to receive blank eyes and an empty smile for his trouble.

* * *

"Old perverts" Gokudera grumbled at the dean's outrage of being ignored by his pretty subordinate

"Oh grandpa" Konoka moaned looking horribly embarrassed, as her friends and total strangers alike lifted their brows at the immaturity of the wise old school dean

Shizuna merely gave the same empty smile the Dean talked about while her colleagues awkwardly scooted away from the ominous aura she was projecting

* * *

"Thank you for your kind words Mr. Vongole'" Shizuna replied demurely

"It is not a kindness young lady", Timoteo said grabbing the woman's hand and pressing a gentle kiss on her knuckles, "but a privilege to be able to give praise to such an angelic creation."

His accent was making the cheesy line sound far more exotic than it honestly should; at least that was the conclusion Konoemon came up with, because that was the only reason Shizuna had to blush and giggle when the Italian _bastard_ kissed her hand.

Konoemon's eye twitched violently as the scene before him overlapped with several others from years past.

An image from 20 years ago, his 18-year-old daughter stuttering and flushed as an older man with "sophisticated" gray edges kissed her hand.

An image from 40 years ago, his wife blushing and tittering as her husband's attractive business associate kissed each cheek in the greeting of European foreigners.

A final image 50 years ago his own mother, far too open and teasing to the flirtations of the young Italian steed on vacation to her beautiful country.

* * *

Asakura let out an appreciative whistle

"He's certainly a smooth one, isn't he?" the reporter asked gleefully, while several others giggled at the frustration in the Dean's thoughts

"Oh Grandpa" Tsuna whined in embarrassment in an echo of Konoka's own earlier torment; the two shared yet another commiserating look as grandchildren of embarrassing elders.

"Mafia Seduction is a useful skill for a boss Dame-Tsuna" Reborn admonished, "you have a lot to learn from the Ninth."

Tsuna didn't respond, merely continued trying to mold into the seat, especially when several of the girls started to giggle at him.

They weren't even two minutes in and he was already wishing it would end

"Why _are_ you being so giggly?" Seruhiko asked incredulously as his fellow teachers joined him in eyeing their friend for her over the top reaction

"I'm sure she's just being polite" Shizuna assured, though internally was another matter, ' _Angelic creation, me? Oh he's probably exaggerating, but that was sweet, Angelic, me, kyaa!'_

* * *

' _Konoka must never meet him'_

* * *

"Ugh, no way" Konoka stuck her tongue out at the thought of her giggling over an old man

"Well, the Konoe woman _have_ proved to have a weakness towards… _foreign_ charms" Paru spoke wiggling her eyebrows suggestively; maturely Konoka stuck her tongue at her

* * *

Behind him, he could _hear_ Takamichi's stunned silence.

' _Be strong youngin'_ Konoemon mentally sent to his new "brother in arms", _'Good Japanese stock will win out against these intruding gigolo foreigners'_ he thought, calmly ignoring the fact that Takamichi himself despite his name was not in fact Japanese.

* * *

"You're not!?" Asuna asked surprised, forgetting that she wasn't talking to her crush as she turned to look at him

Takahata for his part merely smiled and shook his head sadly _'Neither are you princess'_ he thought sadly, ignoring how the more observant ones in the room were eyeing him and Shizuna at the implication of their relationship in the dean's thoughts.

After getting her answer Asuna quickly turned around and kept her eyes on her lap, _'I don't know anything about you at all.'_ She thought remembering she hadn't known him to be magical, or a friend of Negi's father, or… anything that was outside the classroom…

"So then where are you from Sensei?" the friendly airheaded Makie asked, unconcerned

"I think we should finish this meeting before interrupting anymore" Takahata deflected with an easy smile, to the groans of his former students, but they nonetheless turned and focused on unfolding drama

* * *

"As much as I enjoy sharing tea with an old friend Tim, I believe you asked to meet with me for a reason?" Konoemon asked deciding to get this meeting started.

A long moment passed as his "friend" merely observed him over his cup of tea.

"Your time is running out."

Behind him he felt several of his subordinates straighten, no doubt interpreting Timoteo's words as a threat. Konoemon almost rolled his eyes at their protectiveness, but he couldn't afford to take any attention away from the man in from him.

* * *

Outside of time and space, their postures were mirrored by the warriors in the room

* * *

"Oh, in what way?"

"Humanity is reaching a great age of technological advancement; chief among those advancements, the ability to record digital images and send them vast distances in mere seconds. As wonderful as that may be for the average person on the street who needs to stay in contact with someone on the other side of the world, it is something of a hassle for those who would prefer to keep their activities private from the world at large."

"I see, you are referencing the eventual rediscovery of magic by the rest of the world's populace."

Konoemon stroked his beard wondering where his associate was going with this; it was no secret, despite what some traditionalist might believe, magic was never meant to be hidden away forever. With technological advancement being what it was it was only a matter of time.

"You are of course aware that we are not merely sitting on our bums. I assure you Timoteo we mages are as much citizens of this world as everyone, and too share in these advancements in our society. We _do_ have people that monitor such things."

* * *

"They do" Chisame muttered a touch bitter at the memory of fighting digital magical monsters, trying to stop this _exact_ problem they were describing.

She got a few curious glances from those who had been previously uninvolved with the magical side, but the girl merely shook her head at their inquiring glances.

* * *

"It won't be enough." Timoteo stated iron sure, "It won't be another century before the whole thing comes crashing down, if that."

As the other man spoke, his amber eyes glowed as he continued like a judge laying out a sentence on the entirety of the Magi World, "There will be chaos; governments who were ignorant of your world will rally against those whose magical counterparts shared knowledge of their existence. Magi's will become monsters to be fought against, weapons to be used, animals to be hunted. Innocents previously protected by Magi's will be left to the mercy of this cruel world. There will be chaos."

* * *

An ominous air filled the room at the Ninth's words, they had been spoken with such finality…

"He's not right sensei, right" Nodoka asked nervously looking back at the teachers behind them, but surprisingly the answer came from the smallest sitting on the couch

"He might be" Negi answered, his mind on the hour or so they had spent in the other future where magic got exposed for a week.

He had never seen Takamichi so despondent as the one in that timeline, the man who had shrugged off the most powerful spells Negi knew of and whatever else Chao Lingshen had planned for him with a lazy smile. He remembered the cold impersonality of the other teachers who had just hours earlier treated him with kind welcoming warmth; what could turn them on him, a ten-year-old boy and their own students, so _badly_.

Those who had been with him, nodded absently, there thoughts likely taking a similar turn

"But how…?" Poor Misora who'd been raised in such a world since birth asked, unable to wrap her mind around such catastrophe

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to, aru." Chao Lingshen herself interrupted, there was a smile on her face, but her tone was dead serious and there was a cold look in her eyes that dared them to ask.

None did, many were brutally reminded that the girl was from the future

* * *

Konoemon narrowed his eyes at the finality in his tone. The crime lord was far from a seer, but the man had an unfortunate (or was it fortunate?) tendency to casually make simple ( _terrifying)_ almost prophetic statements.

It was apparently a family trait that had been passed through the generations and was even a requirement necessary to become the boss, if he remembered correctly what little of Vongola history he'd been allowed to learn during their younger days. It was this blood trait, more than their intelligence, ruthlessness, and the ever mysterious " **Flame Power** " that insured Timoteo's family, **The Vongola** , remained the strongest most influential family in the Underworld without fail for over four hundred years.

As it was the tension in the room had magnified to an 11 at Timoteo's prophecy of doom.

"Do you have proof of these accusations?" Takamichi asked speaking up for the first time during this meeting.

"Yes", Timoteo answered blasé and Konoemon already knew what he was going to say before he even said it, "My intuition has been screaming these things to me for quite some time now every time I eat Sushi."

* * *

"…What?" the Mahora crew asked as one, looking over at the Mafia side of the room, who all seemed to take the information completely seriously.

Reborn, Colonel, and Lal Mirch (the ones who worked with the Vongola Blood before) all looked curiously blank faced at Nono's answer

* * *

Konoemon, the only one on the magical half of the room aware that Tim was being dead serious resisted the urge to strangle the man across from him.

"Intuition" Shakti asked, obviously making an effort to sound polite about it, but everyone in the room could hear the barely held back irritation, and Konoemon was at least thankful it was her who asked the pointed question, anyone else might have said something insulting, which would have been fatal in the presence of Timoteo's Guardians.

"Whenever I eat Sushi, yes." Timoteo answered back with the utmost seriousness, and Konoemon couldn't help noticing the rather fixed expressions on his guardian's faces, though Gamauche looked like he was trying to contain a snicker.

As it was Konoemon found that he could follow the not quite sane logic of the Vongola man rather easily. Timoteo's intuition, or **Hyper Intuition** as it was called by members of the family, gave the man the ability to make incredibly ( _scarily_ ) accurate deductions based off ridiculously small amounts of evidence; it was likely Tim had picked up on the signs of the Magic World's apparently disturbingly rapid decline that lay deep beneath the surface. Tim who had a business, a military, and a country to run likely didn't give much thought to the magical world _except_ when he ate Japanese food, because Konoemon as the only one in the magic world that Timoteo semi regularly interacted with was Japanese and they made it a point to eat Sushi during their meetings.

* * *

"Wait seriously" Chisame asked, looking almost offended, "No way, that's totally haxed!"

"Oi, you calling the Vongola liars!?" Gokudera barked back annoyed, missing the way his boss had nodded weakly at her assessment of his family's power

"There's no way a power like that could exist, it's totally ridiculous!" Chisame complained, she'd accepted a lot when she accepted magic, but this… this she drew the line at.

"Oi DON'T LOOK DOWN ON THE VONGOLA!" Gokudera roared standing up, once more missing Tsuna's complete agreement with the girl's statement.

"Maa, Maa calm down Gokudera" Yamamato said holding the angry boy back, "Lets just sit down and watch the movie, they'll see the truth themselves."

"Don't touch me baseball idiot" Gokudera shrugged him off, but sat down nonetheless, "And stop calling it a movie!"

"Sorry, sorry" Yamamato laughed, while the other boy glared at his carefree demeanor

"How can you just intuitively pick up nonexistent evidence of secret information?" a still cross Chisame harped, unable to let it go.

"Chisame…" Negi tried to appease the girl; Tsuna seeing they wouldn't continue until the issue was settled, decided to pipe

"Um, Chisame-san is it?" Tsuna guessed, before continuing when she turned her attention to him, trying not to give too much information lest Reborn whack him again "It's a lot more complicated than that… it's just easier to call it Intuition."

Chisame still looked unsatisfied, but she at least settled down and looked ready to continue

"…So" Seruhiko drew out, "Are we just going to ignore that a crime boss apparently has control of a country and its military…? No? Yes? Alright."

Kuzunoha narrowed her eyes, silently recording all the information she could

* * *

Unfortunately, bereft of such explanation, the magical contingent of the room was far less amused

"Is this a joke to you."

Toko, the swordswoman had apparently lost patience with dealing with "criminal scum". Behind him Timoteo's guardian's _twitched_ at the hostility in her voice; from the corner of his eye Konoemon could see his own subordinates _twitch_ back. Sharp but subtle hand movements from the two men kept the peace, but the tension that swirled around the room had been considerably upped.

* * *

"Hey now" Akira muttered nervously as she watched the two groups eye each other

Unbeknownst to her and the other civvies', a similar tension had started to creep into the Viewing room mirroring their counterparts.

Yamamato's smile became a touch sharper, Gokudera slid his hands to his pockets, across the rooms Setsuna, Ku Fei, Mana and Kaede adjusted their seating to something more alert

* * *

It wasn't her fault, for very good reasons there were few in either Magical or Mafia Worlds that knew about each other, and those who did generally despised the other. Magi's looked at Mafioso (perhaps rightfully) as criminals allowed to skirt the law because they had supernatural powers and were mostly ignorant of the responsibility those like the **Vongola Famiglia** and **Arcobaleno** had to the world in exchange for such power. **Flame Users** of the Mafia, looked at magicals as naïve interfering fools at worst and tools to be used at best. Tools they would take shameless advantage of, that is if they didn't have to jump through a thousand and one hoops set up by the keepers of Mafia Law, whom encouraged the separation of powers and absolutely no one wanted to cross.

"I assure you young lady, I'm not in the habit of telling jokes during serious meetings." Timoteo answered back unconcerned by the swordswoman's ire, "I assure you, if Konoemon does not heed my warning for what it is, his granddaughter and her friends, might not make it to as ripe an age as he himself."

Narrowing her eyes, Toko abandoned any attempts at looking civil and dropped her hand to the blade on her hip at the perceived threat.

Across the room Brabanters Schnitten, _did_ _not_ appreciate the hostile action towards his boss, and the _sching_ sound of a blade being released from its sheath filled the room.

* * *

Across the room tension ebbed up as the teenagers prepared to fight for the danger to their other self's bosses. The older generations, being the teachers and the Arcobaleno, as well as the neutrals like Evangeline's party and the Shimon watched, questioning if they would have to intervene.

But before anything could be started, a quiet authoritative voice cut through air demanding attention

"Stop it."

The room turned its attention to the little brunette, who up to that point had done nothing to dissuade the image that he was just some highly unlucky boy who happened to inherit a bad bloodline

The little brunette who suddenly looking much more intense

Not much had changed; he was still short, baby faced, still had big doe eyes, but now there was a hard resolve in his features that brooked no argument

"This is not our world" he spoke, each word laid serious and weighted, "What we see, doesn't matter. What we hear, doesn't matter. This is not our world, not our experiences, mistakes, success… it's not ours. And we won't act on it, if it's too much for anyone, then we'll stop right now."

There was a silence as those who had been gearing up for a fight, suddenly looked sheepish, as they fell prey to the emotions just like the Being warned them against in the morning

"Ha, looks like we got a little worked up for nothing" Yamamato laughed scratching the back of his head

Gokudera on the other hand…

"I'm so sorry Tenth!"

Was nowhere near as cool, falling apart at embarrassing his Boss

Tsuna merely sighed and went about assuring Gokudera not to commit seppuku making Konoka giggle as she sent pointed looks to an embarrassed Setsuna. All but Reborn missed the awed look of the tiny teacher, who himself was not unused to being overrun by his own students

On the other side of the room the Being stared down at its orb, a small smile appearing on its face, maybe this group would learn

* * *

"TOKO ENOUGH" and the room froze as Konoemon allowed some power his considerable power to leak, "We are having a conversation like civilized adults, if you cannot control your need for violence because someone said something _you didn't like_ ",Konoemon stressed, making his point humiliating clear to the prideful woman "you are free to leave as the rest of continue."

The woman in question winced, firmly chastised, and put away her sword,

* * *

Kuzunoha winced at her other self's public chastisement, ignoring Seruhiko's attempts at consoling her

"It wasn't me" she slightly snapped, "It doesn't matter"

Konoka on the other hand found it hilarious

"Grampa did the same thing as Tsuna-kun" she giggled, while Tsuna went tomato red at the comparison, as well as the affectionate use of her name

"Don't go getting any ideas, she does that to everyone" Asuna jokingly chastised, only making him redder

"I wasn't!" he protested

Setsuna glared

* * *

"Yes sir, my apologies sir." And Konoemon almost immediately forgave her, the grown woman sounded like a kicked puppy.

On the other side of the room the scarred Rain Guardian kept his blade at the ready, but a deliberate cough from his boss made him sheath it, and the tension of the room went down minutely.

"Well, this is quite the vital information you've brought to my attention Tim" Konoemon continued after a moment of silence, ignoring the slight (but silent) incredulity of those behind him, "But I must ask, _why_ you bring this information to me, and why _now_?"

"You don't think I would worry for old friends when such visions of death plague my old bones Konoe Konoe?" Timoteo asked using his old nickname with an innocence so seemingly genuine he would have bought it if he didn't know _exactly_ who he was dealing with.

Timoteo Vongole was most assuredly _not_ his friend; he never had been and barring some massive catastrophe that forced their implicit cooperation, never would be. The mafia and magical worlds were kept separate despite both having a hand in what could be considered the supernatural for very good reasons. Sometimes a flame user crossed over into the Magic world, able to disguise their unique power as magic or even Ki, considering the similarities between the two powers. Sometimes, someone from the Magic World without training in more advanced arts could be passed off as someone with **Mutated Flames** ; which was known to happen in those with long bloodlines in the Mafia. Vongola's Hyper Intuition was apparently once such mutation of **Sky Flames** unique to the Vongola bloodline.

* * *

"Question" Akira raised her hand, "For those of us still new to this, what are Sky Flames?"

"I would like to know that as well" Evangeline said speaking up for the first time, though her inquiry sounded like more of a demand

"So even Evangeline-san doesn't know" Yue observed, an odd juice box in her mouth, "So it's not something even powerful Mages know about?"

"Wait Evangeline's a Mage too?" Yuna asked, "Is everyone a mage!?"

Ako, hearing the very real distress in her friend's voice, discreetly patted her on the hand; obviously the sting of her father's other life hadn't softened yet

"Flames, explain boy" Evangeline cut through any more tangents, pointing to Tsuna

"It's just a power the Mafia uses" Tsuna explained haltingly, unwilling to give anything that hadn't already been told by the vision, "I'm sure it will be explained deeper by someone better than me, if the two world really are combining."

Evangeline narrowed her eyes, but accepted the answer with a put upon 'humpf'

* * *

Otherwise the two men interacted with each other based on necessity more than anything; he was a friendly acquaintance at best, an ally in keeping the peace even, but Konoemon never forgot that at the end of day Timoteo Vongole' cared and put forth his own above all others. If standing back and watching as an entire people die out kept his own safe, he would do so without the slightest of hesitation. Timoteo Vongole' was **not** his friend, but he was a good man.

"I think," Konoemon answered swirling his cup, "That you would be far more likely to hide away and keep your family safe than risk them being mistaken as magic; your kind certainly have more connections with the world governments of today than my own."

Which was true, unlike magic and magi's, Mafiosi were regularly accepted as a known part of the world's balance of power, even if their Flames were not. The founder of the Vongola Famiglia had no hesitance in making alliances with and even absorbing military and religious powers from other nations into his family, even having the audacity to invite foreign royals to serve under him.

Though Konoemon had no _exact_ proof, he was vaguely sure that Italy, Vongola's base of power, had not had a free government for generations; Vongola were not the kind to bow to the influence of someone else if they could help it.

"If you fall, others will fall with you, and war doesn't give a damn about technicalities"

True even so, "So why are you _here_ , Timoteo?"

"You've said it yourself" the man answered amber eyes staring into his soul and thoroughly unnerving Konoemon, though he'd never show it, "We have connections to government powers, connections you will desperately need in the coming days."

"Are… are you suggesting an alliance" no that wasn't right, but it couldn't be, "Are you suggesting we bring the two worlds together!?" he asked wide eyed.

* * *

"Yep" Makie answered as if he was talking to her

"They can't hear you Makie" Ako told the girl, but there was the tiniest bit of uncertainty in her voice as she peeked back at her former English teacher

Takahata smiled and shook his head in the negative

"The Dean is really thrown by this" Asakura noted, her reporter's intuition niggling saying, 'this is important', "This is probably a bigger deal than we realize."

Everyone looked introspective of her words

* * *

Timoteo gave a curt nod

Konoemon sat back mind racing hundreds of miles a second, the work that would be needed, officials to be called, Businesses'! They would flourish, prejudices would need to be overcome, the risks were terrifying to consider, THE GAINS were too tantalizing to even dare to hope!

"Vindice" Konoemon managed to cough out, because if there was any force on Earth that could stop such a thing it was those apostles of destruction. **Vindice,** wardens of **Vendicare Penitentiary,** and **The Keepers of Mafia Law.**

* * *

"Mafioso have laws?" Konoka asked with a tilt of her head, that didn't seem to make much sense for criminals to have laws, the answer she received disassembled any skepticism on the subject

"Yes" it was hard, resounding, and had been spoken with grave seriousness by literally everyone on one half of the room, brooking absolutely no argument

"Not that they always follow it" Mukuro mused darkly; the hatred barely restrained in his voice was enough to unnerve those still innocent

 _'What has that child gone through?'_ Shizuna thought watching pityingly as the teen ignored the girl ( _a sister?_ ) trying to comfort him, while expressly not touching him

* * *

"Ah" Timoteo smirked looking so insufferably smug at Konoemon obvious flustered state that Konoemon wanted to slap him, "It just so happens, that the leader of the Vindice owes my grandson several favors and the two of them are… well not allies, but on friendly speaking terms."

 _'He's like Reborn'_ was Tsuna's first thought as he watched his grandfather toy with the other man, before the rest of the statement penetrated his skull, and he proceeded mentally crash for almost a full minute before rebooting

* * *

"enth! Tenth! Answer me, Tenth!" slowly Tsuna became aware of Gokudera in front of him shaking him

"W-what?" Tsuna asked terribly confused, "Gokudera, I had a terrible hallucination. I thought I heard Grandpa telling me to befriend the Vindice."

Instead of looking at him bewildered or calling him crazy (not that Gokudera of all people would insult his mental health) … and the guilty uncomfortable look that spread on his Storm's face was not inspiring.

"Ah Tenth…" the other boy wouldn't even look at him

"He, heh, heh," Tsuna chuckled, before without warning his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he started to collapse

"TENTH/TSUNA"

"So" Asuna spoke after a moment when they resuscitated the little brunette, who immediately started hyperventilating upon consciousness, her eyes moving towards the talking baby in a suit, "I take it this Ventice is a big deal?"

"Yes" interestingly enough, she thought she heard one or two of the teachers answer as well

"WHY WOULD I BE NEAR THEM!?" Tsuna screeched, coming back to full coherency

"I- I don't know Tenth?" Gokudera tried and failed to calm his boss

"Maybe, you wanted to talk about the laws?" Konoka tried to help, it didn't work much

"WHY WOULD I CARE ABOUT THAT!?"

"Maybe you wanted to visit someone in Vendicare?" Enma contributed

"Vendicare doesn't have visitors, only the rare release" Reborn explained

"Maybe Boss, went to get someone released" Chrome spoke up, her eye on Mukuro, who refused to meet it

It was Chrome's answer that finally calmed him down, as he followed her gaze to the other half of the Mist

"Yeah" he said in a remarkably calm voice for all his previous panicking, "Yeah, if it's for Mu-my friends, I can talk to them."

Mukuro didn't look at either of them

* * *

The smirk on his face grew more as Konoemon gaped, _'SOMEONE WAS ABLE TO TALK TO THOSE MONSTERS!? No even before that, he'd actually knew who the leader was!?'_

Immediately Konoemon was assaulted by a memory from almost 50 years ago when he'd first met Timoteo; a man from the mafia side had broken some heinous law and had tried to hide himself in the Magical World, Timoteo had been hunting him down in Magical Japan on behalf of his mother, **Vongola Ottavo**.

 _Black Flames appeared from the shadows like something out of a horror flick._

 _Bloodlust and pure **hate** flooded the room, as a cold scent of death swirled in the air._

 _The man, disgusting child murder, eyes wide and terrified_

 _The blond foreigner that gotten on his nerves for the past week stepping in front of him, his own orange flames wrapping around them both protectively._

 _The man's last desperate leap for his weapon and aimed not at the shadowy figures but **at his own head** , before chains appeared from thin air wrapping around him dragging him back to three bandaged figures in black overcoats and top hats._

" ** _Carlo Lorenz Eni, you have been judged GUILTY_** _"_

* * *

Asuna swallowed at seeing the creatures in the flesh; even at just their image, she could all but _feel_ the hate and darkness coming off of them.

She didn't blame the mafia boy for his fear anymore, as she and several others tried to scoot back in their seats, away from the image

Those things were _creepy_

* * *

Konoemon shivered briefly at the memory before changing the topic, "I wasn't aware one of your boys left behind an heir."

Across from him some of the light dimmed in Timoteo's eyes, and Konoemon cursed himself; Timoteo had once had four sons, Enrico, Federico, Massimo, and the youngest Xanxus. All but Xanxus were dead now, and last he'd heard the boy had had to be locked away because he was too much of a danger to the family and himself.

"Ah, he is my **Outside Advisor** 's son and is a grandson to me in all but blood." Timoteo answered a little bit of life coming back into his eyes at the mention of the young man. And Konoemon thought to his granddaughter's best friend Asuna that Takamichi had dragged into their lives almost a decade ago and sympathized. "Or perhaps even in blood as well, he is born from an old Japanese line of the Vongola."

* * *

At her brief mention of her introduction to the Konoe family, Asuna felt several eyes settle on her; heaving a sigh she gave a short aggravated answer

"I'm an orphan, Takahata-sensei found me when I was small, and brought me to Mahora" she grit out, to her mild surprise and appreciation, she received no pitying looks nor inquiring questions.

They simply nodded and accepted it, like it was an everyday thing

… to them it probably was… she wasn't sure how to feel about that

* * *

Konoemon raised his eyebrow, "Is he…?"

Timoteo nodded, " He is to be my heir" which meant he had powerful Sky Flames and V.H.I (Vongola Hyper Intuition). "It's good that we brought him up, I would like to ask you a favor."

And had Konoemon's eyebrows not already been glued to the top of his forehead, they would be now, Timoteo Vongole' did not ask favors, he **took** what he wanted.

"I would like you to allow him admittance to your University"

* * *

"Wait Doe Eyes is coming to Mahora"

"He said to the University, are you a genius or something"

"Pfft, genius" Hana laughed

"How dare you laugh at the Tenth, the Tenth is a magnific-" Gokudera raged

"We're failing buddies" Yamamato cut in honestly with no shame

"It's likely this is in the future" Hana deduced, "That guy over there said somethings like the timeline didn't match up or something, it's probably a Sawada in his University years or something"

"That's very astute of you young lady" Takahata complimented, while Hana brushed it off, but was obviously pleased

* * *

Konoemon felt a serious shift in the room, his teachers' naturally interested in the prospect of new students of any kind, but more so than that, a solemnity had entered the Vongola contingent of the room at the mention of the boy.

"I'm always willing to welcome those willing to learn Timoteo, this is a school first and foremost." He answered truthfully, and honestly even without Tim's ludicrous ( _tantalizing_ ) proposal to merge the two worlds in some kind of long term plan to safe magic and maybe expose it ahead of the natural progression, he would welcome the heir to Vongola anyway if only to help build bridges with a future big player of Underworld and Supernatural politics.

"If I may ask I feel, there may be some more to your request though old friend. If you mentioned his apparent, ah, partnership with your law keepers, then I assume he is to play a bigger part in your merge the worlds plan."

"His name is Tsunayoshi, and he's recently begun taking over duties of an Underboss, before the next three years are up he will take over for me completely"

Konoemon blinked, that was very important information; the leader of the Mafia World was stepping down. Konoe knew how chaotic the transfer of power could be, just look at the mess with his son in law, 15 years later and there were still massive tensions between their two organizations; though in fairness that was more do to Eishun's decision to send his daughter and the unknowing symbol of peace to his school here in Mahora rather than in Kyoto. Still Konoemon couldn't help but question,

' _Only three years and you want to send him here to a foreign country?'_

"I know, it's a short time frame." Timoteo nodded, responding to Konoe's thoughts as if he'd spoken aloud, much to the man's slight irritation. Tim had made it a game to speak his thoughts out loud the first time they met, making the young man paranoid he could read thoughts.

V.G.I was the best detective in the world, everything was an open book to those who had it. Which come to think of it was probably why this meeting, tense moments included, had proceeded as smoothly as it did considering how insane Timoteo's proposal was.

But Tim's face was not amused at infuriating him like it was during their younger days but worried and sad.

"I have put much on Tsunayoshi's shoulders, perhaps more than my predecessors did on their own heirs, at least for the age he was when he began his training." The man continued morosely, "As it is he has taken it all with little complaint, but I fear if I do not give him time to have the childhood I ruthlessly stole from him he will break."

"So, his attendance?", Konoemon asked, still suspecting there might be more to the story, but was probably more personal.

"Will be a working vacation more than anything." Timoteo answered, "A chance to get away from it all, while doing something **good** , a task worthy of a prince of his station, creating bonds and alliances for the Famiglia, and helping someone in need. He is quite the seeker of righteous justice, my heir."

* * *

"A seeker of justice in the Mafia, doesn't that seem kind of contradictory"

Tsuna didn't care, yes, he was the one who said not to put too much stock in this other world, but he couldn't help but take strength from the fact that just one more version of him was still out there trying to be a good person, still resisting all that Mafia B.S.

"Che, I'll have to up your training" Reborn said audibly near his ear, making him internally weep

"It sounds romantic" sighed dreamily

"No... it doesn't" Enma muttered, dead serious; there was nothing romantic about there world

* * *

Konoemon stoked his beard, already intrigued by this 'Tsunayoshi', a righteous man in the Mafia? He could see why Timoteo would pick him, other than a lack of other heirs.

"Very well" Konoemon nodded, "We will see him on the first of the new semester."

"Perhaps, for the sake of building relations between future leaders, you can find a way to put him with that class of supernatural heirs you plan on having young Mister Springfield teach." Timoteo casually name dropped, "Maybe as a student teacher or tutor between his classes at the university, he's quite adapt at tutoring." He said with an amused glimmer in his eyes.

Reborn snorted, Tsuna groaned

Behind him he heard Takamichi startle, no doubt his protective instincts for the boy flaring at hearing a Mafia boss was aware of his friend's son's movements. Konoemon more used to his now ally's propensity for dropping bombs without care didn't even blink at the apparent breach of security.

"How did you-"

"Know?" Timoteo cut off the young man behind him with an innocently surprised expression that didn't reach his eyes in the slightest, "I'm sorry was it supposed to be a secret? My apologies, but you really shouldn't leave such information lying around for anyone to find then."

"It wasn't _lying around you-_ "

Konoemon raised a hand cutting off a repeat of Toko and the sword incident from twenty minutes earlier, who looked like she wasn't going to say a word for the rest of the meeting if it killed her.

"Very well"

"Headmaster-", Akashi-kun interrupted this time, and Konoemon was reminded that his daughter was in that class.

* * *

"Daddy" Yuna murmured, staring at her father; he did care. Obviously, of course he cared, he wasn't a different person.

Yuna took a second look at the scary serious look on his face

Not a _completely_ different person…

* * *

"Peace, Timoteo is as man as good as his word, if he vouches for his grandson I'm inclined to believe the young man's intentions. Besides we'll have to get used to his presence none the less. Tell me is any good at English?"

"It is one of several languages he has been made fluent in, business purposes you understand."

Konoemon nodded, good perhaps a university student looking to teach for college credit would do.

"If that's all then?" he asked.

Timoteo nodded and the leftover tension of the room dissipated as he made it clear the meeting was for now over. Rising to his feet using his gaudy cane, which was definitely _not_ just a cane, as a support stick, returning to looking for all the world like a harmless old man once more, he held a hand for Konoemon to shake.

When their hands met, Timoteo's hand clenched and a sudden insufferable heat entered the room as the old man's eyes _glowed_ neon orange and it was no longer hard to see this man as anything other than as the Black King of the Underworld.

"Know this though Konoemon," Tim- no, Vongola Nono warned, "Tsunayoshi is my _last_ heir, if **_anything_** fatal happens to him under your watch, regardless if it's your fault or not, we **_will_** **Hunt. You. DOWN.** "

With that he let go of his now slightly raw hand, and returned to pleasant old man so fast, you'd think the last few moments were a hallucination if not for the smoke coming off Konoemon's sleeve.

"I'll be seeing you Konoe" he said cheerily as he and his guardians made their way out the door.

Then they were gone, and silence reigned in the room in the wake of old Mafioso's threat. Takamichi pulled up a monitor showing their progress off the campus as Shizuna rushed to inspect his hand.

On the monitor an old man in a brown pin striped suit waltz out to parking lot filled with four or five dozen armed men in black suits who all straightened and bowed when the man came into view. Turning to give one last orange eyed look at the hidden camera, the man entered the limo, and took off.

"Well headmaster" Takamichi said putting a cigarette in his mouth, "You've certainly done it now; a mafia boss is coming to Mahora whether we like it or not now."

 _Yes, Vongola Decimo is coming to Mahora_

* * *

.

.

"Well" Makie squirmed slapping her knees and looking around uncomfortably in the dead silence after the Mafia Don's epic ( _scary_ ) exit, "That was a thing"

 **.**

 **.**

 **Seriously, ANYONE can take over at ANYTIME, I'll send the first half I have done of the next chapter over and you can go from there, this is longer than I thought**

 **… As long as it's not one of those lame reacts, where there's like five paragraphs bolded, and a single line of "And then everybody laughed/cried/angered". Those suck, seriously, it's blatant plagiarism for Follows.**

 **… … Or the ones where the narrator is in active character constantly jumping in and making references that make no sense with the context of the fic, or blatantly using wizard dimension magic to shit or bash on the characters; the point of these is to know how the canon characters would react to seeing this alternate world of themselves. Those suck less, but still not great, not great.**


	3. Reading the Foundations

**HELP : While checking the chapters for Mahou Mafia Tutor, I noticed I accidentally took down a chapter, and its deleted; anybody know how I can get that back or are just such an amazing super fan they saved a copy, or were in the process of trying to plagiarize me and have it on them, please PM me. It was the Lambo chapter. And not to guilt trip anyone, but it's a loss that's really kicking my will to write in the teeth. I loved that chapter, and I honestly don't know if I can recapture it from scratch.**

 **. .**

 **. .**

 **Chapter 2 Setting the Foundations**

 _4:37 a.m. In a castle outside Palermo, Italy_

' ** _BOOOM!'_**

"GODDAMMIT STUPID COW IT'S TOO DAMN EARLY FOR THIS SHIT!"

"SHUT UP MONKEY, YOUR SCREAMING IS CAUSING MORE NOISE THAN ANY OF US!"

"GUYS BE QUIET TSUNA HAS TO WAKE UP IN A FEW MINUTES!"

"SHUT UP BASEBALL IDIOT, IT'S THIS DEVIL WOMAN MAKING ALL THE NOISE!"

' ** _BOOOOOOOOM!'_**

"DAMMIT STUPID COW I SAID IT'S TOO FUCKING EARLY"

" **EXTREME EARLY MORNING SHOUTING CONTEST!"**

" ** _SHUT UP RYOHEI/TURFTOP/IDIOT!"_**

* * *

"Well, that's certainly one way to wake up" Akira said sweat dropping as she watched the rapidly ensuing chaos; it was definitely an abrupt change in tone from the last vision

"Sure, let's call it that." Tsuna groaned rubbing his hand over his face, already drained without being in the room

"Cheer up Tsuna, at least you weren't electrocuted this time." Yamamato laughed, looking at the 'bright side', while the Mahora crew mumbled to themselves incredulously. _Electrocuted_?

"Idiots, disrupting the Tenth's precious beauty sleep!" Gokudera immediately went off on the other Guardians

"You're there too Mr. Storm" Chrome pointed out in a rare vocal moment, making Gokudera blush

"Ha ha ha, she got you Octopus Head!" Ryohei laughed

"Shut up Turf top" Gokudera roared

"Monkey's" Hana grumbled, she couldn't believe she would have to be stuck in here with these idiots for hours… or weeks… Ugh

Suddenly they were cut off by Makie and Misora laughing hysterically, when they turned to the… _eccentric_ … girls, Makie continued laughing and pointing

"Y-you, cough, you sound ha, exactly like the people you're insulting!" she broke off in a fit of giggles, while the Vongola teens paused, looking at the image and their own behavior, before calming down with an embarrassed flush.

Hana especially seemed irritated at "Copying herself" like some of the others had in the last 'chapter'.

"Why am I even there?" she grumbled at possibly being a part of whatever criminal activity their other selves were getting into, while Kyoko patted the girl on the back soothingly

* * *

' _One day'_ , one Tsunayoshi Sawada thought to himself dead eyed as he stared at the criminally small numbers on his alarm clock, ' _God as my witness, one day I WILL snap, and I WILL murder every last one them in THEIR sleep.'_

Because _of course_ after his friends had gotten the idea to throw him a farewell party (the night before he had to be up at **5 a.m.** to take a flight to one of the most important meetings of his career) that lasted till past midnight, AND he'd had to stay up an extra two hours to arrange for the damages they had all drunkenly incurred to be taken care of; they would no doubt decide to wake him up a good thirty minutes early with their arguing.

 _Of Course_.

Judging by the slight slur in Hana's voice, Takeshi's unnecessary volume when telling them to be quiet, and Ryohei's Ryohei-ness, they likely hadn't slept the alcohol out of their system. This left no excuse for Lambo, who was a child and kept firmly away from alcohol, and Hayato who would be at this meeting with him and like Tsuna had abstained from drinking last night. But then again Hayato was operating on just as little sleep, and he had an idea of why little adopted brother was deliberately being such a brat to explode, whatever it was he was exploding to make that unnecessary noise.

* * *

There was an uncomfortable shifting among the Vongola teens before they were distracted by an important fact

"He's calling us by our first names" Hana observantly noted, not sure if she was pleased with that fact or not, before deciding she didn't really care if Sawada used her name

He peers where much less blasé of that fact, and the Mahora group looked over curiously at their stunned faces

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ayaka asked; the girl had remained mostly silent throughout their interactions, but now she was focused intensely on Tsuna, to his confusion and discomfort

"Tsuna never calls the guys by our first names" Yamamato explained "I think the only reason he call's Ryohei-Sempai's sister by her name is to differentiate the two, and Haru is too pushy to except anything less."

Both Haru and Kyoko pouted at him

At that there was a brief pause as the others considered that; Enma almost pointed out that Tsuna had called him by first name for almost as long as they had known each other, but chose to keep it to himself. As odd as it was, his new… friend… seemed almost more comfortable with him ( _a total stranger_ ) then he did his own Guardians.

Not that Enma blamed him, his _own_ Guardians could intimidate him sometimes _'despite me knowing them even longer'_ , he thought glancing at Adel who seemed determined to watch the proceedings like a silent observant hawk, having the minimal interaction with the Vongola crew.

"Why don't you just call them by name?" Konoka asked curious, everyone in their class did that with each other, having been a part of the same class for years

"That would be rude!?" Tsuna shouted back appalled, interestingly getting an affirming nod from the little professor next to him

"What's rude about it, we're all friends here" Yamamato brushed off easily

"I'm Not/ Don't claim such things herbivore" Mukuro and Hibari immediately rebutted, before glaring at each other for apparently agreeing with each other about disagreeing

"Go ahead and try it, just go Takeshi, ~Ta-ke-shi~" Yamamato sang, ignoring the other two's input as if they hadn't said anything

"Oi, don't force Tenth to act personal with you, baseball idiot!" Gokudera said standing up for his boss

"Ah, c'mon Hayato, I'm sure you want him to say your name too, right?" Yamamato 'soothed'

Gokudera flushed a deep red, before giving shy glances at Tsuna; apparently, he really wanted to hear it too, if he didn't even snap at Yamamato using his given name.

Tsuna was about to speak up and put a stop to all this when a quiet voice interrupted

"I wouldn't mind, hearing the boss calling my name affectionately"

"C-chrome!?" Tsuna stared incredulously at where the quiet voice came from

"Extreme! You can Extremely call me Ryo-nii" Ryohei shouted, while Tsuna cringed at the cutesy affectionate nick name. Never.

"This is amazing" Misora whispered in awe, at the oncoming brawl, not even Asuna and Ayaka were this hair trigger, "All this started with a name."

"They're all morons." Chisame grumbled unimpressed, as the rest of her classmates watched in anticipation

"Oi, I told you to stop pushing the tenth you idiots!" Gokudera snapped at the rise in attempts to get Tsuna to call them casually

"Gokudera!" Tsuna suddenly yelled, making the rest of the group go quiet and turn their attention on him.

"Tenth?" Gokudera question wearily as Tsuna clenched his fist and looked like he was preparing to say something serious.

"…H… H-Hayato" Tsuna stuttered out going bright red, causing a pause to go through the area

A moment later Yamamato snorted, and several others had to look away holding their nose, a teenage boy shouldn't sound so _cute_

"T-tenth, you don't have to strain yourself for someone like me!" Gokudera immediately shouted face a bright pink, as he slammed his head into the ground with a bow

"Goku- H-Hayato! Please don't hurt yourself!" Tsuna screeched trying to stop him, unknowingly making it worse as Gokudera exploded with ( _presumed_ ) undeserved happiness

"Pfft, why do you guys sound like some middle school girls on their first date" Yamamato roared, ignoring the annoyed scoffs and giggles from the side of the room _filled_ with middle school girls.

"Are we ready to start now?" Shizuna asked after Tsuna spent a moment going around the room, calling his friends by their first names to various levels of amusement. The moody boy, Kyoya, was by far the most amusing; especially when he asked/threatened that if the "degenerate" was going to call him anything at all, he might as well just call him Kyo.

Truly, such a lively group of kids for supposed mafioso

 _'At least the girls are more at ease with their presence'_ Shizuna thought, trading a knowing glance with Takahata, noting the more relaxed state of the student's shoulders after watching the ridiculous byplay of the criminal gang

* * *

Letting out a defeated groan, Tsuna pulled himself into a sitting position, idly noting the presence of his other two adopted siblings who had snuck into bed with him for his final night in Italy for the foreseeable future.

A small smile twitched especially at little Fuuta's presence, the boy was fourteen closing quickly on fifteen; the young man had told him not two years ago (quite passionately at that) that he was too big to sleep in his brother's bed anymore and would not do so again. This was maybe the eighth time he'd broken his promise this year.

* * *

"You too huh?" Asuna mock grumbled, sending a dry glare at the little boy between the two of them

"A-asuna" Negi whined, getting amused looks from those who knew the boy's "night time habits" and curious ones from everyone else

Fuuta who was on the ground with the other kids, merely leaned back against his brother's legs as Tsuna patted the top of his head in affection

"Well, that confirms it" Hana noted, "The Sawada in this universe is at a later age than our own."

"If Fuuta is fourteen, then that means Tsuna-kun is either eighteen or nineteen?" Haru estimated out loud, as the others leaned forward eagerly to get a glimpse of the future Tsuna

His picture alone had been the most mysterious during their trip to the future, and no one had gotten even a glance at him

* * *

Little I pin laid (somehow) scrunched up underneath him, her elbow digging into the older boy's neck; neither seemed to notice or care, sleeping through the _still going on_ chaos happening outside of the room.

* * *

Current I pin hugged Fuuta around his neck, even as the older boy grimaced at the image of his little sister's elbow in his neck

"That is so cute" Chizuru and Haru, the nurturers and daycare volunteers of the group, squealed

Ayaka merely looked on with a wistful smile on her face, as she imagined a chubby faced little brother slipping into her bed when he felt scared or wanting company…

"Yeah, as long as their asleep" Tsuna muttered under his breath

* * *

Pressing a kiss to both of their heads, this would be the last time he'd be seeing them for a while, he got up and got dressed in the suit and tie that had been laid out for him the night before, letting out a small hiss when his shirt rubbed against his newest in a long line of scars across his chest.

* * *

Ako winced, she wanted to be a nurse someday and regularly volunteered at the nurse's office with Shizuna-sensei, but she still was squeamish when it came to bodily injuries.

Her own scar on her back gave a phantom ache at the sight of the literal road map on the other boys

"You have a lot of scars" Negi thought aloud staring at the map of slashes and disturbingly large amount of burns, and oddly enough what looked like an animal bite

It reminded him of Eishun's chest; would he too have scars that covered him like that too? Would he be lucky enough to survive that long?

The rest of the room stared at the image with hard eyes, their thoughts wondering in similar directions. Some were even rubbing their own bodies, no doubt where long ago wounds were inflected.

Gokudera and Yamamato in particular looked murderous as the counted the scars, considering each one a failure on their parts to protect the person they cared about the most

"I guess I do" Tsuna whispered staring at a mark on his center chest, idly rubbing the same ident on his chest from where Lancia's ring stopped Byakuran nearly pierced his heart.

"Forget the scars, do you see the rest of him!?" Haruna yelled interrupting the solemn moment, "Holy crap he's hot! Who would have thought that baby face would grow into something so _sexy_?"

And like that any solemnity was lost as the girls divided into scandalous gasps and approving hums, and suddenly Tsuna felt a lot less melancholy. Rather, he crossed his hands across his chest, like a woman trying to hide her assets, and tried to meld his body into the couch.

* * *

It was still a little sensitive to the silky material most of his clothes were made out of, and to think Big Brother Dino kept trying to get him to get some tattoos. Why on earth would he willingly stab himself with a needle to create a fancy shaped wound he wouldn't be allowed to heal with Flame Power?

Before stepping out to greet the chaos that was his Famiglia, he saw a blue flashing light on his phone indicating a message. Tsuna grabbed at it seeing it was a message from his **Chief Advisor** and former home tutor, **Reborn**.

* * *

Reborn raised his eyebrow at that; he hadn't planned on staying with Tsuna after his training was complete, just as he hadn't with Dino, or any others he trained. What had this Tsuna done to get him to settle down?

"Woah, he got Reborn to settle down, kora" Colonel let out an impressed whistle as the others looked at the hitman in question

* * *

With a raised eyebrow he read the last-minute advice from the man who'd made him who he was today, only to deadpan a second later.

 _{Message Sent Today 3:58 a.m._

 _Sender: The Demon_

' _Dame-Tsuna I know it's your want to do, but don't fuck up your meeting._

 _If you make the Vongola look bad I'll hunt you down and kill you._

 _Signed World's Greatest Hitman Reborn' }_

* * *

"That was… encouraging?"

"That was him being nice" Tsuna deadpanned

 _What's he like when he's not_

* * *

Tsuna stared at the message with a bland face as his tutor pretty much made it apparent he expected Tsuna to fail; he'd even added a set of nonstandard emoji miming Tsuna being shot in the head, all ending with his signature arrogant title.

"Asshole"

*Bling, Bling*

New Message

Tsuna blinked at tapped the message when he saw it was from Reborn again.

 _{Message Sent Today 4:48 a.m._

 _Sender: The Demon_

' _For calling me an asshole your training will be upped 3x'}_

' _Is there a listening device on my phone'_ Tsuna thought, not putting it past his sadist advisor

*Bling, Bling*

New Message

 _{Message Sent Today 4:49 a.m._

 _Sender: The Demon_

' _No listening devices you're just easy to read Dame-Tsuna'}_

"How would you even know what my face is like!?" Tsuna yelled at the phone

*Bling, Bling*

New Message

 _{Message Sent Today 4:50 a.m._

 _Sender: The Demon_

' _I'm the World's Greatest Hitman'}_

'Are the capital letters really needed,' Tsuna thought not even phased by arrogant response

*Bling, Bling*

New Message

 _{Message Sent Today 4:50 a.m._

 _Sender: The Demon_

' _YES, THEY ARE NEEDED'}_

"NOW YOU'RE JUST SHOWING OFF!" Tsuna yelled at the phone

"Oi, Sawada, you sound like you're awake in there?" He heard a voice coming from outside the door, and sighed putting his phone away,

"Yeah, I'm coming now Hana"

* * *

"You two are hilarious" Konoka giggled at what she saw as friendly bickering, "You must have a close relationship!"

"Yeah, we're… great" Tsuna said in a strained deadpanned, even as he questioned how anyone could think he had a friendly relationship with that demon

Unbeknownst to him, he and Reborn were making the exact same expression on their faces (with Reborn's being a bit smoother), only serving to make those who noticed giggle harder

Hana meanwhile ignored the byplay, instead staring at the vision with growing apprehension; she was about to see her future self for the first time, a future version of her who had gotten involved with the monkeys on a life of crime

* * *

When Tsuna stepped outside the door, it was to the controlled chaos that was Vongola HQ.

Vongola Head Quarters was a _massive_ castle sitting just outside the city of Palermo that function both as a home for the elite members of the Famiglia and their various subordinates, as well as a center of business. The original castle was built nearly four hundred years ago by their founder **Vongola Primo** , all together the castles had undergone no less than 126 renovations, 7 expansions, and had had to be rebuilt entirely from the ground up twice, both times using the schematics of the original.

* * *

There were impressed whistles all around, from the Mahora and Mafia crews alike, as many got their first glance at the Vongola's ancestral home. The vision taking the time to pan around and show the sheer expanse of the castle, the beautiful stone, the view of the wild and city life, and everything in between.

"It's amazing" Negi freely gaped in awe, this was definitely worlds away from anything he'd seen at home, even from anything he'd seen in Japan, "Look you can see where the architects took inspiration from the renaissance in the building of the, but the, what is that a courtyard/parking area, that's definitely a modern twist on the roman…"

"And there he goes" Asuna smiled fondly as she watched him go off into an academic ramble about things she had no idea about, it been awhile since she'd seen him dork out like this, "he gets like this from time to time" she explained for the benefit of their visitors.

"It's fine, we have one too" Yamamato smiled as he gave an easy gesture to where Gokudera had leaned forward and taken to inform the boy about the history of the castles and the Vongola's general love for 15 Century Art in their halls.

Many of the Mahora girls looked surprised as the scowling delinquent boy started spitting out intelligent facts that went over most of their heads

"Meh, I've seen better" Evangeline shrugged, this whole situation was only vaguely interesting to her, as far as she was concerned they were still at the intro of the story, she was ready for the good part. And by good part she meant the part where she came in

"Okay, let's put a hold on that" Asuna spoke up interrupting the two academics, before they could get into a full on debate "you guys can dork out over that when we're done here, for now just make a note or something and we'll get back to it later."

Taking her advice, both boys added the topic of discussion to their notes

* * *

The building itself was never asleep; people were constantly coming and going at all hours of the night and day, typically depending on how legal the business was. Even here in the residential section of the mighty castle there was usually a clean-up crew present cleaning up the Famiglia's latest mess. In this case, Tsuna's going away party; tame compared to most family get-to-togethers, no burnt furniture, markedly small amounts of bullet holes, and there was only two- no three, random barn animals on the premises.

* * *

"Wow, you guys sure par-" Akira started, before being shushed by a wired Hana

"No more interruptions!" the serious girl silenced, her entire attention on the sloppy pants suit wearing version of herself that had just entered the picture

* * *

"The idjit monkeys are causing trouble", a clearly sleep deprived looking Hana Kurokawa, groused to him. Her eyes were red, her hair out of place, and oh dear had she said 'idjit' instead of idiot; to be using improper grammar, Hana must be very out of sorts indeed.

"I'll take care of it Hana, why don't you get back to bed and I'll send Ryohei-nii to you when I'm done, okay?" he replied kindly.

* * *

Gokudera who had been taking a drink to quench his now dry throat after debating with the tiny teacher, immediately began choking and coughing, as the rest of the room slowly turned to the now frozen girl and boxer

"…Hana?" Kyoko finally braved when her friend didn't blink for almost a minute

"NO!" Hana said coming back to life, "No, I just- No no NO!"

"Apparently yes, yes, yes" Haruna smirked, her eyebrows wiggling

Hana turned on the smirking girl with a mad look in her eyes

"No! I would never, ever-, not even my type I-, I like cool good-looking guys! Cool!" the girl shouted missing Ryohei's wince

"Extremely no tears Ryohei, no tears" Ryohei mumbled to himself in a depressed huddle as he was indirectly rejected by his 'promised girl'

"Be strong Sempai" Yamamato patted the boxer sympathetically on the shoulder

Tsuna, who had faced his own rejection from said boxer's own sister, looked on with pity and empathy

"Ryoheiiii fight" Tsuna whispered in a low tone, not wanting to attract the attention of the still frantic Hana

"Fight" _every single_ male in the room (minus Reborn, the bastard) muttered their quiet support

Eventually the girl sat back down, and they continued their viewing

* * *

"Y-yeah, that's fine" the girl mumbled, a bit of red appearing on her cheeks, clearly embarrassed at how blatantly he called her out on the fact that the young couple was sharing a bed.

* * *

Hana groaned, and Ryohei went an interesting shade of pink, but both refrained from commenting, their friends giving them both soothing pats on the back and smug grins for separate reasons

* * *

' _Hana pacified, and vengeance for interrupting my sleep executed'_

Was it petty that Tsuna was deliberately putting a good friend on the spot for something mostly not her fault? Yes, yes it was. Did he care? No, no he didn't. Tsuna was a boss, a teacher, a big brother, a fighter, an occasional lover, and the generally overworked employee of his task master grandfather; sleep was a commodity more precious to him than fine wine, gold, and in rare cases his own mother. You bet your ass he was going to avenge it like it was his long-lost son passed away before its time.

* * *

Present Tsuna grunted his approval, while those who knew him, couldn't help but make the comparison to how Reborn would've handled the situation and thought perhaps the younger boy may be getting corrupted by his teacher.

Those who didn't however sweat dropped at how vindictive the sweet-faced boy was being over waking him up less than thirty minutes early

* * *

"Good night, or rather morning Hana, I'll see you in a month or two."

"Y-yeah, night Sawada, have a safe trip." She mumbled before turning in the direction of her, or rather Ryohei's room.

Chuckling Tsuna continued on his way down the hall until he reached the family dining room, not to be confused with the Famiglia dining room used to host other Famiglia, or the Posh-men dining room used to host some wealthy someone or other that didn't have any particular connections to the Underworld.

Along the way he tiredly smiled and expressed commiserating nods with equally tired staff members all too eager to switch out with the morning staff that started their shift at six.

He even pointed out to one poor girl maybe a year or two younger than him, who'd dropped her gun a few feet back, clearly still new as her name didn't immediately come to him; all Vongola staff were deadly trained and armed at any given time, the night shift in particular.

The girl had flushed a pretty pink, and thanked and apologized to him in rapid Italian. Tsuna had merely laughed and tried to let his **Internal Sky Flames** (the invisible life force that Mafioso used to fight and bond with one another) wash over and comfort her.

Which apparently had not been the right thing to do; he'd underestimated exactly how new the girl was to the Vongola and Flame Power in general, because as Tsuna's flames (his very essence) washed over her, her face went pinker and her eyes dazed at his smile. Before Tsuna could awkwardly excuse himself, Middy an older member of the crew appeared out of nowhere and yanked the other girl by the arm away from him, but not before giving him an admonishing glare.

* * *

Present Tsuna flushed a pretty pink as the other teenagers in the room started to giggle at the accidental flirtation

"What did you do just now?" Takahata said speaking up, curious on the manipulations of Flames

Surprised but eager to get away from the embarrassment of his future self's accident, Tsuna took on a contemplating look

"Ah, I- or he, probably just tugged on their bond" Tsuna said, but realizing that nobody could tell what he was talking about he tried to find another way to explain his limited knowledge; thinking back on those cheesy propaganda videos Reborn used to show him he continued, "Ah, flame users can make bonds with each other like a family, certain users can feel and tug on those bonds for comfort… like giving them a hug, to remind them your there and care for them."

Tsuna quickly cut off his explanation, not wanting to give too much away about the mafia and drag these people in any more than they had to be; it didn't help that he could feel Reborn's silent approval of his appealing explanation ( _even now he could see some of the girls contemplating making such a bond_ ) without giving away information about 'Our Thing'.

And no, he wasn't blushing from that approval, shut up…

"I see" Takahata said rubbing his beard in thought, but merely waved away the questioning glances he got, _'I'm sure we'll get more detailed information later.'_

* * *

"Stop staring into space stupid girl and get back to work, you still got an hour left, your shift ain't over!" She tore into the young woman even as she dragged her away.

"S-sorry Signora", but Tsuna didn't miss how her eyes flicked back to him, neither apparently did the older groundkeeper if the narrowed eyes she shot him meant anything. Tsuna could only smile apologetically and continued on his way to the dining room only to run into,

" **SAWADA, GOOD MORNING WE ARE HAVING AN EXTREMELY EXTREME EARLY MORNING SHOUTING MATCH.** "

"SHUT THE FUCK UP TURF TOP, NO WE'RE NOT!" screamed a voice from the room up ahead.

"Ryo-nii" Tsuna replied back calmly, as he gazed at sleep desecrator number two.

* * *

Tsuna cringed, he actually got Tsuna to use that embarrassing nickname?

Three seats down Ryohei beamed at the name his 'cute little brother' gave him

* * *

Ryohei Sasagawa, Tsuna's own **"Guardian of the Sun"** , just as Brow Nie Jr. was Grandpa Ninth's; a tall tanned young man just hitting twenty, a powerful boxer and wielder of particularly energetic **Sun Flames** , and an older brother figure of Tsuna since middle school. He was Tsuna's inner circle's trainer, heavy hitter, and aspiring medic.

* * *

"You're the medic?" Setsuna asked a touch incredulously; the boy they met didn't seem the academic type, and his future self seemed even larger, louder, and generally more intimidating, _rippling muscles_ freely exposed on screen.

"Sun Flames can be Extremely used to heal!" Ryohei cheerfully explained, while not really explaining anything, even giving a little fist pump

"Onii-chan loves to help people" Kyoko nodded along

All three were totally oblivious to the silence in the room as the rest of the girls seemed _very_ intent at staring at… the future.

Hana herself seemed to be a little dazed as she stared

* * *

He was also the president of the Disturbing Tsuna's Precious Sleep Club, and had oh so graciously delivered himself to Tsuna for his humiliating punishment without having to be hunted down.

"Ryo-nii you seem upbeat…more so than usual anyway." Tsuna replied oh so pleasantly, "How much sleep have you gotten?"

" **NONE, I'VE STAYED EXTEMELY AWAKE THIS WHOLE TIME TO SAY GOOD BYE TO YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE!"**

Which was pretty much the conclusion Tsuna had drawn; now then, how best to use this, hmm. What did he have to work with, an overly hyper Ryohei for one who despite his energy his body was probably begging for him to stop. Ryohei's sister was (thankfully) not present so he couldn't use her, but he did have a frustrated Hana who was waiting for him in his room.

If anybody asked, the smirk that briefly came over his face was only because he'd had a wonderful idea on how to help his brother work out that excess energy; it was not devilish, or Reborn-like in the slightest.

"Hey Ryo-nii, I won't be leaving for another hour," he started off innocently, " and it would be terribly unfair to make you wait that whole time, why don't you go ask Lussuria-nee(que shiver) for an early morning spar, I'm sure he/she would be up for it."

The shemale probably would be too any other time, he/she had made clear his/her interest in Ryohei's body long ago, a fact that would ordinarily make Ryohei keep his distance… ordinarily.

Right now Ryohei was running on such little sleep that what little safety precautions his brain actually had were long muted, and Lussuria, for all he/she was willing to play grab ass with him normally, took his/her beauty sleep **Seriously** , capital 'S'.

Lussuria, who slept on the other side of the castle with the rest of **The Varia** \- Vongola's elite assassination squad- would most likely kick the ass of the energetic but sleep deprived Ryohei and the older man wouldn't have the strength to make it back to a sexually frustrated Hana any time soon.

Vengeance x2, and if it inconvenienced the Varia _bastards_ who'd shown up ate his party food, drank his liquor, picked a fight with his guardians, and then left before clean up?... well strange coincidences happened all the time in the Vongola household.

" **EXTREME IDEA SAWADA!"** screamed the poor doomed fool.

"I do what I can to help Ryo-nii"

" **EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEME!"** the fool sprinted away

* * *

There was a short silence as everyone in the room gave Tsuna weary glances

"That was…" Akira tried to come up with something to say, but ultimately let herself trail off

"That was hilarious!" Gokudera picked up, having no problem laughing at the turf top's misfortune; as soon as he broke, the rest of the Vongola party broke into laughing and giggling, more than aware of what awaited him if Future Ryohei bothered Lussuria of all people

Tsuna let out a sheepish smile, more than a little embarrassed that some of his private thoughts were broadcasted for everyone to hear, and even more so that his Future Self had the courage to actually _act_ on those thoughts.

"Sorry Onii-san" Tsuna apologized sheepishly, but Ryohei merely shrugged him off with a good natured laugh

Hana, for her part, was just glad that nobody was drawing attention to the fact that other Sawada had referred to her as sexually frustrated. She of course knew that couples that shared a bed did… _certain things_ …, but she didn't like having that advertised.

"Boss is turning into Reborn" Chrome quietly muttered to a horrified Tsuna

"Chrome! Don't joke like that, I'm not turning into that demon baby!" of course immediately after yelled this, he was kicked in the back of the head by said demon

"Dame-Tsuna, you would be lucky to have a fraction of my grace" Reborn admonished ruthlessly

"Grace my ass" Tsuna muttered, never one to let Reborn get the last word, and was immediately rewarded for his defiance by an arm bar from Reborn, making him scream

"Their terrible to each other" Chisame said lowly watching the ensuing violence with a cringe as the brown haired boy tapped out

Her statement received nods all around, except from a young Kotaro who looked on with glee like he wanted to join in, and Negi who didn't get much male interaction, and was watching them curiously.

When they settled back down the vision resumed playing

* * *

Tsuna continued on with his rather eventful journey to reach the dining room only to find it mostly clear, Takeshi and Lambo had most likely heard the vengeful Tsuna coming and had made tracks while he was busy with Ryohei.

Takeshi Yamamato, Tsuna's **"Guardian of the Rain"** , wielder of the deadly calm **Rain Flames** a swordsman like many other rain users in the Mafia as well as an avid baseball player had been one of Tsuna's closest friends since middle school.

Takeshi, who had literal killer instincts, was staying at the Vongola Castle for the holidays, before returning to the states. After high school he'd been drafted by a major league baseball team in the states, during the off season he worked part time with the Varia and Reborn as Vongola's currently 5th best hitman.

* * *

"Congratulations Y-Takeshi" Tsuna cheered, choosing to focus on the achievement involving baseball, rather than the hitman part

"You've become a decent assassin" Reborn immediately added on, destroying Tsuna's intended compliment

"Ha ha thanks" Yamamato beamed, looking at the screen at his older sharper self: a fact that made it impossible to tell which compliment he was acknowledging, with him it could have been both

* * *

"Tsuna-sama" his right hand man, and one of two remaining people left in the room, greeted him from the table with a cup of coffee in hand.

* * *

"And there's the future doggy of the Vongola Decimo himself" Mukuro spoke up, pissing Gokudera off, but before he could speak up the Mahora girls once more made their approval known

"And another hottie joins the list" Haruna cried dramatically in mock upset, "Where do they grow you guys!"

"S-shut up!" Gokudera snapped embarrassed and irritated, his pretty looks had been a constant source of aggravation for him when he was still living on the streets; having such earnest and sweet girls compliment him was new and uncomfortable

"Ah he's blushing" the future mangaka teased

"He's all tsun~ tsun~" Asakura joined

Gokudera grumbled mutinously, unwilling to turn his temper on these civilian brats, especially when it was clear to him that they were acting as a distraction from all the casual mentions of assassination. They needed to keep this viewing peaceful after all

* * *

Excepting the no doubt overly caffeinated drink, Tsuna took a long worshipful sip of the holy nectar, and shivered.

"Hayato", he addressed the other young man in a deadly serious and slightly husky voice, " Have I ever told you that I love you."

"Every day tenth" his right hand smiled, green eyes sparkling with amusement, "but I've yet to get tired of hearing hit."

"Good, cause I'm going to say it, I. Love. You." He spoke putting as much emotion in to the words as possible.

* * *

"Hey" a voice called Tsuna to look over, where he stilled upon noticing several girls glancing at him

"Y-yes?" Tsuna asked weary of the looks he was getting from the glasses wearing girl asked with a wide smile

"Are you two… y'know" Haruna asked with a wiggle of her brows, making her friends look away from her in mortification

 _Why did they take her out in public again?_

Less used to her antics, the two boys exchanged a quick befuddled glance, before shaking their heads in confusion

"We know what?" Tsuna asked wearily feeling a shiver down Tsuna's spine; he had noticed a trend of this girl liked to make the most embarrassing and inappropriate comments

"~Y'knoooow~" she sang, her smile wide an impossible to misinterpret

"We're not gay/ we're not fuckin gay" Tsuna and Gokudera answered in stereo; interestingly this wasn't the first time this had come up.

Hana snorted

" _They_ say" the original promoter of said insinuations commented

"Yes, _we do_ " Tsuna and Gokudera once more pressed, irritated at the old argument of their sexuality

* * *

Hayato Gokudera, wielder of the ever chaotic **Storm Flames,** as well as several other flame types, was naturally his **"Guardian of the Storm"**. He was the unofficial leader of the guardians, the tactician for Tsuna's inner circle, the Right Hand man, and the Chief of Staff for the various legal Vongola business that were directly under Tsuna's control.

"This" said a voice breaking the loving **manly** stare of manship, "this right here, is why people think you're gay."

* * *

"Ha!" Haruna and Hana crowed vindicated, making both boys roll their eyes

* * *

 _"Good morning Haru" Tsuna greeted the far too perky brunette sitting on the other side of the table, Haru Miura, Hayato's girlfriend as well as the Personal Assistant and general manager of the guardians and Tsuna's inner circle, respectively. She was also Tsuna's ex, but the less said about that the better._

* * *

"Wait what!?" Tsuna cried, he dated Haru!?

 _'Not Kyoko'_ he thought shooting the oblivious girl a disappointed look, _'And on top of that our relationship didn't even work out… that's really depressing if I can't even keep the affections of the weird stalker girl. Way to go Dame Tsuna.'_

"Nooo" Haru wailed, "Why is Haru with Bakadera!?"

"Don't call me that you damn witch!" Gokudera yelled back snapping out of his frozen state at that info. dump, "Like I want to be with a harpy like you!"

However, Haru ignored him as she wailed, Kyoko and Hana giving her sympathetic pats,

"Now you know how I feel" Hana muttered, once more missing Ryohei wince and depressed state at her words.

"Haru was promised to be Tsuna's wife!" she cried

"No accounting for taste" Hana muttered under her breath, receiving an admonishing "glare" (read: pout) from Kyoko

"That was never decided, you crazy stalker!" Gokudera yelled, before going deadly still as feminine arms wrapped around him

"Hayato, never belittle the feelings of a maiden" Bianchi admonished, ignoring or just oblivious of the cold sweat her brother had broken out in, "Especially a future lover"

"Gurk" was Gokudera's intelligent response

As was becoming usual, the Mahora side watched from the sidelines as the chaos rapidly exploded beyond what was reasonable; they had even started taking bets on who would do the next most outlandish thing

"Tsuna don't leave Haru! She loves you!" the girl suddenly cried jumping at the startled teenager, who automatically reached his arms out and caught her

"Haru please calm down please" Tsuna tried and failed to calm her, at this point Gokudera would have usually interceded, but the teen was… indisposed… with his sister.

In the end, they decided to leave her there and continue on with the viewing, Gokudera silent in his sister's "loving embrace" and Haru in Tsuna's

* * *

"No, the reason people keep thinking that is because you keep spreading those rumors you bitch" Hayato responded in their 'unique' expression of love.

* * *

The people in the room blinked at the "unique expression of love."

* * *

"No, it's really not" she replied pointing behind them; Hayato and he turned around only to see a small group of maids loaded up with breakfast foods watching them with heavy blushes on their faces.

Tsuna sweat dropped even as Hayato grumbled at her to shut up, but Haru only continued to tease; it momentarily broke into a bitchfest that was typical of a relationship between someone **with Storm Flames** and someone with **Lightning Flames.**

* * *

 _'Well, looks like fighting was still a part of their relationship'_ was more or less the collective thought of everyone present, the exception being Haru who chose to focus on her own Flame Element being revealed.

"I'm getting real tired of these Flames being mentioned, without any kind of explanation" Hana complained annoyed

"As am I" Evangeline agreed irritably, her unnatural hearing allowing her to pick up on the girl's mutterings; Chachamaru served her master some tea from the provided provisions to calm the vampiric mistress

* * *

The two flame auras worked well together, 'like brothers' he'd been taught, but also like brothers they tended to get on each other's nerves.

Tsuna for his part ignored the bickering couple and sat in on the delicious breakfast in front of him, his mind turning to the work he had ahead of him for the next year or so, as well as the conversation leading up to this project.

" _I'm sorry Grandpa can you repeat that I don't think I heard you right."_

" _You heard him right brat" a grumpy voice interrupted_

" _Thank You Coyote", both Tsuna and Timoteo said at the same time, Tsuna sarcastic and Timoteo exasperated._

 _Coyote and Tsuna's rivalry had begun long ago and showed no signs of getting better._

 _Coyote was the epitome of the old school traditional Mafiosi; Tsuna was brat who'd fought tooth and nail to be kept out of the Mafia, and it was only when he was told that he'd be allowed to break Vongola's bloody traditions did he put up 'less' (_ not zero _) of a fight._

 _Coyote was of the firm opinion that Tsuna was a disrespectful brat, with no control over his Famiglia, who was leading them all to ruin. Tsuna was of the firm opinion that Coyote was a dick._

* * *

Several of the Arcobaleno who had worked with the man personally snorted at the Decimo's insult

Tsuna on the other hand felt a subtle relief wipe away a tension he hadn't even realized had built in his chest, even as he flushed appalled at his other self's rudeness.

He was still opposed to the Mafia

Throughout this whole experience, the fact that he was Vongola Decimo was all but a given, and for a long moment Tsuna feared _this_ Future Tsuna had fallen to the same traps as the one from their war with Milliefiore.

The Tsuna that made children fight his battles, and took innocents as hostage to make him fight harder, the one who left Mukuro in prison after all that time, and didn't once try to use his wealth to help out Chrome.

The Tsuna who was a Mafia Boss

Unbeknownst to Tsuna, he wasn't the only one in the room who had picked up on that bit of information, and he'd garnered more attention with that one statement than with any previous information about knowing the Vindice, or being an ambassador to a magic world had.

Enma in particular had to force himself not to lean forward in rapt interest

 _'Is it true Tsuna? After all that time, are you still untouched by this bloody world?'_

* * *

" _Just assuring little **Serafino** his hearing was working well" Coyote groused using Tsuna's Italian name._

* * *

"Serafino?" Tsuna asked thrown off by the fact that he'd even _need_ another name

"It's the name that was set up for you to do business in Italy" Reborn answered, dropping away from his fellow Arcobaleno to tutor his student, "You're an oriental civilian boy being trained to take over a _very_ traditional Italian syndicate, a false name would be needed for multiple people's protection"

Tsuna nodded, accepting the information at face value, if ignoring the reason behind it

Reborn smirked, good; even if his student disagreed with his path, information should be learned and used.

* * *

 _Typically he didn't like being called it by family; it was for business purposes only and felt too impersonal; 'coincidentally' he never complained when Coyote used it._

" _You heard me correctly Tsunayoshi", Grandpa 9th continued, apparently willing to ignore the animosity between his right hand and his heir, "there_ **is** _an entire world hidden all around you that is capable of wielding magic. We of Cosa Nostra have long held certain non-aggression pacts with their leading government associations. We_ **are** _about to break the barriers between the two worlds. As the mafia's unofficial prince you would be the ideal ambassador for first contact… and yes their stationed in a school of all places._

* * *

"I was surprised too" Asuna and Chisame sighed

"Why is the Magic,… uh, Organization? In a school?" Akira asked, turning to her more well informed classmates

"Kanto Magic Association" Takahata gently corrected, "And it was built around the World Tree, a _very_ powerful magical presence, and has operated their _long_ before being turned into a school, and later a normal-magic school hybrid"

"The school acts more as a cover for the association" Seruhiko said jumping in, like most young teachers eager to educate "since most Mages are also scholars anyway, it's two birds with one stone."

The students on both sides hummed their understanding, the adults filing away the information for future use

* * *

" _Are you absolutely sure this is magic, and not some Famiglia of people with undiscovered flames the way the Shimon Family was?"_

* * *

At the mention of the Shimon Family, Enma and Adelheid went stiff, both doing their best to ignore the suspicious glances from Tsuna's right hand and the world's greatest hitman

"Huh, you have special flames Enma?" Tsuna asked in innocent curiosity

Enma, feeling Adel's sharp gaze on his back, decided to take a chance; the Being had all but told them that secrets were useless, since they would be reading each other's minds. And if Tsuna was still trustworthy in the future…

"Yeah" he brushed off with a sheepish smile, "only my family can really use them though"

From the corner of his eye he saw Adel's eyes narrow, he tried to discreetly send her a look back that said lying would do no good here

Apparently accepting it, the young woman let out an audible sigh before backing him up

"Yes, those with blood of the first Shimon Boss, can access his rare mutation of Flames" she drawled as if exasperated, "which is _supposed_ to be a family secret."

"It's fine Adel, I trust Tsuna and the rest" Enma gave a nervous laugh, she was the one who was supposed to be the assumed boss, their performance that of a troublesome little brother aggravating his big sister- and not two people trying to hide a coup.

It worked and Tsuna was immediately apologizing to Adel on Enma's behalf for letting out their 'big secret', which she graciously brushed away

"Of course, it's fine Sawada-sama" she said with a bow, "But please keep this among yourselves, for the safety of Shimon. Those with unique abilities aren't always treated well in Costra Nostra."

Tsuna frowned unhappily but nodded, as did several others in the Vongola group; the Mahora crew stayed silent and like their other half before them just made note of the information for later

* * *

" _Positive", the old man said amused, "you can ask Vindice, they have all the appropriate records"_

' _Well that pretty much seals it' Tsuna thought 'If its **Bermuda** 's men then it's pretty much guaranteed to be true.'_

* * *

Several people narrowed their eyes at a given name of one of the Vindice Guards, absorbing the information greedily, but otherwise stayed silent

* * *

" _Wouldn't somebody else be a better first choice ambassador, aren't I… you know… too important" Tsuna asked, somewhat mortified at describing himself as such, but over the long years of being with (_ not in, never **in** _) the mafia, it was a fact he'd come to except. He refused to risk his friends' lives rescuing him because he'd underestimated his own importance._

* * *

Enma and Adel exchanged looks at Tsuna's exhale in relief, another point in Tsuna's favor as a decent human being

* * *

" _True, we could send one of our guardians or some other elite members from our world, but Konoemon and I both share the opinion that such bonds should start with the young." Tsuna's grandfather acknowledged, " That leaves you and your Famiglia, Yuni and her Famiglia, or Byakuran and his Famiglia as the only ones with the appropriate power, influence, and age to be sent."_

* * *

"Byakuran's alive?" Tsuna questioned, burning the deranged man to ashes had been one of his most frequent nightmares

"His younger self at least" Yamamato answered with a shrug, accepting the information without much fuss. It made sense.

"I hope we don't have to fight him again" Tsuna whispered fearfully

"Is he one of your opponents from your time traveling Sawada-san?" Chizuru asked from spot besides Ayaka; the blond hadn't taken her attention off of either Vision nor Current versions of the boy, and she had a feeling her friend had more than just a mild curiosity of the boy.

So she was asking questions about him on both of their behalves.

Tsuna nodded

"He was the one tearing apart the space time continuum" he answered, shooting a discreet glance at Yuni.

Somewhere in all the surreality of ending up in some endless void, he'd managed to brush off her resurrection; but the girl he saw was at least ten years younger than the one he'd helped in the future, and was presumably a younger Yuni… nevertheless, he was happy to see the girl alive.

Meeting his gaze from where she sat above with the rest of the Arcobaleno, the little girl shot him smile, which he returned, feeling significantly more lighthearted with the topic

"He was really strong" Tsuna continued turning his attention back to the school girl

"If he acts up again, we'll just beat him down again" Reborn answered unconcerned

"Reborn!" Tsuna snapped aggravated at the belittling of the blood, sweat, and tears he'd gone through to pull of that win

"Pay attention to the vision Dame-Tsuna" Reborn ordered, ignoring his student's lack of backbone

Grumbling, Tsuna turned around

* * *

 _Then his grandfather leaned back an stroked his mustache contemplatively as if an idea had just occurred to him, " I suppose one of the **Arcobaleno** could be sent, they're not children but they could pass."_

* * *

Tsuna tilted his confusion, um, the Arcobaleno _were_ children, they were babies, right? Right?

* * *

 _Tsuna felt a shiver run down his back at the thought of those prideful ridiculously powerful monsters being sent on a_ diplomatic _assignment._

* * *

No sooner than the thought past through Vision Tsuna's head did he feel four tiny (but impossibly heavy) feet stomp into his back and head

"Ouch stop punishing me for someone else's thoughts" Tsuna screeched

Reborn stared at him, before putting a comforting (read: mocking) hand on his shoulder

"Tsuna is Tsuna no matter what world he's in" the baby hitman said in an adorable comforting baby voice

"Don't say it like you're trying to comfort me!" Tsuna snapped

* * *

 _Yuni's family would rather die than send her on a mission without at least 6 platoons and a tank as a guard._

* * *

Yuni giggled, Gamma probably would do something like that

* * *

 _Byakuran and his were barely as sane as Varia- who themselves were a bunch of psychotic sociopathic sadists (and one masochist), which also exempted the Varia themselves._

* * *

The tenth generation gave awkward looks at the looks from the others in the room

* * *

 _The Shimon were the appropriate age and power, but lacked the influence to speak for all Cosa Nostra. _

* * *

At there second mention, several people rose their eyebrows, including the two Shimon kids themselves

' _So, they have the power to stand with the Trissinette and Varia families?'_

* * *

 _Anyone else Tsuna could think of failed for previously mentioned reasons, leaving him and his own circle as the only ones capable._

 _His Storm had too many responsibilities already, his Cloud and Mists wouldn't go even if he told them, his Sun, though awesome, was not the one you sent for first impressions, his Lightning was a genius but still_ too _young for Tsuna to release his overprotective big brother (mother bear) instincts, which left his Rain._

 _Takeshi was actually perfect, he was scarily observant, likeable, had the infiltration skills of a natural born hitman, and was a very powerful player to send should things get rough. But Tsuna wouldn't send him, Takeshi's dream since boyhood was to play baseball, he sacrificed so much to Tsuna, and now that they had_ finally _found a way to make both Famiglia and baseball work, Tsuna wouldn't, couldn't take that away. The only one better to go than Takeshi would be Tsuna himself._

 _Seeing his grandson's indecision, it was a very big decision on quite short notice, The Ninth made to speak._

" _Tsuna, I know you are not happy here" he said making Tsuna stiffen, " I know you didn't ask for this life, that you've done your best despite all the challenges thrown your way, and made it farther than anyone ever expected. And about that girl you were with…Kyoko"_

* * *

At the Ninth's words a second stifling silence hit the group, before exploding in noise

"Eeeeeh! Kyoko-chan dated Tsuna too!?" Haru shouted

"Hiiie! I lost both Haru _and_ Kyoko-chan!?" Tsuna screamed right behind her, but his words had an effect he didn't intend on

Haru, apparently hearing the romantic version of what Tsuna said, immediately turned from where she was still in his lap and wrapped her arms and legs around him

"Tsuna hasn't lost Haru yet, Haru swears she'll work harder this time to make their relationship work!" she swore, squeezing him tight at his 'passionate' proclamation

"You dated Dame-Tsuna?" Hana muttered in disbelief to a stunned red-faced Kyoko

"I , I uh, I" she stuttered incoherent

"Get off him witc-" Gokudera tried to spring to life, but was immediately taken down ( _this time deliberately)_ by his sister Bianchi

"That's right Haru, fight for your right to love!" Bianchi cheered her 'sister' on, lost in teary eyed passion, "I'll keep this degenerate from breaking you up a second time!"

After finally, _finally,_ freeing himself from Haru's (admittedly not unpleasant) hold, Tsuna breathed and tried to calm to situation down, only to be blocked by a massive shadow

"Sawada" Ryohei breathed, his face shadowed, his voice a dark promise

"O-o-onii-san?" Tsuna stuttered, having never seen this side of his sempai before; the closest being when the older boy decked him in the face in The-Future-That-Never-Was.

Which also was about Kyoko, ah man

With lightning fast reflexes, he reached out and grabbed the younger boy by the collar, and Tsuna prepared for another beating, when Ryohei suddenly raised his head and showed not an angry face but…

"You Extremely took my baby sister from me!" Ryohei wailed, tears and snot streaming down his face, "My EXTREMELY SWEET, EXTREMELY INNOCENT, BABY SISTER! ONII-CHAN ISN'T READY!"

"ONII-CHAN PLEASE STOP!" screamed a mortified Kyoko, at equal volume of her brother, as she tried to get him to put Sawada down

"Put the Tenth down Turf Top!" you can guess who screamed that

"Ha, ha, ha" Yamamato stayed at the side, one arm under his ribs, the other holding himself up, and otherwise made himself utterly useless in stopping the chaos as he gasped in air laughing

"Hmm who knew Baby face could be such a player?" Asakura smiled, as a reporter she loved the drama unfolding, and had been taking detailed notes of all the interactions so far. She couldn't wait to meet these Vongola again in her time

But unlike the other times the chaos didn't wind down, instead it somehow gained some sort of resonance, feeding off itself and growing exponentially until…

"Herbivores" a dark voice spoke creating instant silence, to the curiosity of the Mahora crew

"For disturbing the peace" one Hibari Kyoya stated, his tone slow and condemning, "I will bite you to death."

"H-hey H-Hibari let's just calm dow-"

 ** _WHAM_**

Several minutes later, the Vongola children sat in neat and orderly rows, patiently waiting to continue, while the Mahora girls huddled together in fear

 _'He's a monster'_ was the collective thought on their side, as they had watched the teenager lay a brutal and disproportionate smack down on his friends; he had even used the fact that they couldn't really die in this realm, to give the maximum pain possible

"Hn, continue the story herbivore" the prefect ordered

The Vision obeyed

* * *

 _Tsuna squirmed at the mention of the taboo name_

* * *

Both Kyoko and Tsuna cringed outside too; the relationship must have been especially bad to get that kind of reaction, especially from the clearly older more confident Tsuna

* * *

" _This could be good for you, get away from Italy, your guardians, the weight of Vongola Decimo/Neo Primo; go back to your home country, meet new people, new family, sharpen your skills, learn, see, explore a whole new world." The Ninth continued selling from what Tsuna could read was a "working vacation" of some sort._

" _I'm also told where you'll be working is an **all girl's school** " the old man finished with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows._

* * *

Several of the girls, rather than proclaim the old man a pervert sent flirty looks to the posture perfect teenager on the opposite couch, delighting in the way he blushed so easily under their attentions.

Haru sitting on the opposite side of the couch where she'd been regulated by Hibari, sent the girls a glare

* * *

" _G-GRANDPA" Tsuna's face exploded red, the old man only laughed_

 _Tsuna grumbled about embarrassing elders for a moment._

" _How long will it be?" he finally asked_

" _A year give or take"_

* * *

"A YEAR!" screeched everyone under the age of 15

" ** _Herbivores_** " Hibari's warning growl, made them quiet down, and they reminded themselves to have no outburst until the prefect's nerves were soothed

* * *

" _So long!?"_

" _A year is far from a long time Tsunayoshi, especially for a project of this magnitude"_

' _Right' Tsuna thought 'exploring a whole new world_ does _sound very time consuming' taking a moment to think on the pros and cons, Tsuna made a decision,_

…

" _I'll do it"_

" _I knew the All-Girls-School would do the trick"_

" _GRANDPA!"_

 _The older man merely laughed before dropping a file in front of him,_

" _This is all the information Konoemon provided about all you should know about the Magi World."_

 _Tsuna didn't even reach for it, merely raised an eyebrow,_

" _And how much do we_ actually _know"_

 _Nono grinned before slapping a damn **textbook** on top of the file_

* * *

The old man's grin made the teachers' eyebrows twitch, and they dared not look across the aisle at the insufferably smug looking baby in a suit

* * *

" _This is all we're not supposed to know"_

 _Tsuna leaned forward, and flipped through a couple of pages, before looking at the old man with wide eyes,_

" _A magical PLANET?!"_

" _In a separate dimension accessed through Stone Henge at that."_

* * *

"eeeh?" Ako, Asuna, Chisame, and Makie whisper yelled, mindful of the sleeping demon

"Mundus Magicus is a separate dimension for magic countries" Negi quietly answered their unasked question

* * *

"That's insane" Asuna whisper-screamed, "How crazy is your magic world"

Gokudera looked like he was about to squeal, he had his hair pulled back in a ponytail and glasses on his face, and looked poised to take rampant notes, as he immediately began interrogating the child professor

To the amusement of the adults, all this happened in varying toned whispers, as they dare not wake the demon prefect

"Smart delinquent boys are sexy~" Haruna whispered to Yue and Nodoka who were staring at Gokudera

"Mmm Smexy~" Asakura whispered back

* * *

 _To Tsuna's credit he only let out a low whistle at the news, "This is going to be the project of a life time"_

" _Indeed, and it would be yours" Timoteo said sliding the other file to him meaningfully; while Tsuna looked up at the shifted tone of voice. "I know I asked for your help in reforming the Vongola and by default the Mafia, but I never said you had to find the long sought after answer to world peace. If there's no peaceful way to keep the smaller Famiglia in line, perhaps an outside influence to focus them on would be better."_

* * *

A tension rippled through the adults at what the old man was implying; they would use the magic world as a rally point to focus their aggression.

Reborn tapping his foot caught their attention, the baby then made a gesture the same as Tsuna had made to Gokudera earlier and they all forced themselves to relax

This wasn't their world, different times, no causing fights

As for the younger generation, Tsuna was focused on the face that Nono wasn't trying to force the previous Vongola values on him

* * *

 _Tsuna swallowed and looked into deep amber eyes, heart pounding as the old man handed him, what could be the key to Tsuna's-both of theirs- life's work._

" _As it is there are things only you can do, we need someone to talk to The Vindice before you leave and they decide to reign fire down on all of us."_

 _Tsuna merely nodded, when it came to Vindice, Tsuna was the go to negotiator_

" _I wish you good luck Tsunayoshi"_

"… _Thank You"_

"JUST ADMIT YOU'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT! HARU PROMISES NOT TO JUDGE!"

"FUCK NO YOU CRAZY WOMAN, KEEP YOUR DAMN FANTASIES TO YOURSELF. GUYS CAN SAY THEY LOVE EACH OTHER NOWDAYS!"

* * *

"They're still arguing about that?" Chisame asked incredulously

"Yes" Tsuna said sounding drained, Enma feeling more at ease with his friend gave the boy a commiserating pat, he knew what having was like trying to reign in the insanity in the family

* * *

Tsuna slowly blinked out of his musings, and glanced to where Haru and Hayato were still arguing about the apparent gay moment they'd just had.

Satisfied that they were occupied, Tsuna closed his eyes and focused on the meditation technique he'd been taught by Mammon, and focused on his inner flames. Reaching out he saw all the flames that were bounded to him; as a **Sky** , Tsuna was capable of **Harmonizing** and bonding with those of other flame types.

* * *

"Ooh, ooh, they're doing something with fire again, they're doing something with fire!" Konoka squealed in her seat, bouncing forward in excitement, while her friends looked at her with fondness.

Tsuna spared a smile for the enthusiasm of the girl he'd been sorta making friends with via eye-tag and mutual embarrassment

* * *

There were the seven particular flames that Tsuna felt all the time no matter where in the world he was, the flames of his Guardians.

Hayato right next to him, flames a beautiful **Storm Red** with small traces of the other elements floating about, fierce and chaotic but tightly controlled. He could also feel echoes of his current irritation and embarrassment.

* * *

"Ooooh" the Mahora girls awed at the crackling colors that represented Hayato Gokudera

"You're so pretty" Konoka awed, at the grumbling embarrassed Gokudera

"I don't want to hear that from you" the teen delinquent muttered

"Your flames are really beautiful G-Hayato" Tsuna spoke up in awe, "The multiple colors are definitely more beautiful than my own."

"Tenth, you praise me!" the boy squeaked pink faced

"Wait is he a tsundere or a yandere?" Chizuru asked, before being shushed by Ayaka

* * *

Takeshi down the hall, flames a calming **Rain Blue** lazily swirling, prepared to become a fierce whirlpool at a moment's notice. He felt echoes of amusement and could guess the boy was close enough to hear Hayato's predicament.

* * *

Yamamato gave an easy smile at Tsuna's perception of his Flames, winking at the boy when their eyes met

* * *

Ryohei on the other side of the castle, flames a blinding **Sun Yellow** overwhelming with their intensity, radiating energy and life. There weren't many emotions echoing, but Tsuna guessed the man was already knocked unconscious.

* * *

Tsuna winced at his other selves' revenge coming to fruition, but nonetheless chuckled when Ryohei beamed at him for his description

* * *

Kyoya Hibari was not on the premises, upon hearing that Tsuna would be coming to their home country he remained in Japan. His **Cloud Violet** flames were not as large as the others, but they were easily five times as intense. Being in another country at the moment Tsuna couldn't feel his emotions.

* * *

Hibari had lazily opened an eye upon hearing his name, but satisfied that his Flames were more intense than the others despite their size, pacified him and he went back to sleep

* * *

Mukuro Rokudo and Chrome Dokuro the two halves of his mist guardian, their **Indigo Mist** flames as ever shifty and illusive and so tightly wrapped around each other it was impossible to determine which of them he was more closely bonded to, which was just fine with all of them.

* * *

Hearing their description, Mukuro reached over and pulled the small girl towards him, getting a brief blush, before she smiled happily up at him. Both pleased at the ability to touch each other; Mukuro was taking the time to enjoy everything about this experience.

And he had been prodding and testing the various things in the room, well aware that technically none of it was "real" and intended on using it as inspiration for his own illusions.

The girls who had been matching each flame per person, silently aww'd and squealed at the private moment of affection

* * *

Chrome had been present last night but she'd left early to meet up with Mukuro, but he could feel echoes of the male mist somewhere in the country, which meant he'd already started on his part of the mission, good.

He was about to tug on the last guardian's flames, **Lightning Green** staticky and currently radiating distress, when one of his smaller Flame bonds, this one to another Sky no less, suddenly crashed over him.

Tsuna snapped open his eyes, not surprised in the slightest to see a gun being pointed at his face.

"Trash" said a gruff voice

* * *

"Is that an extra Guardian Sawada-san?" Negi asked, having carefully counted the elements, and was eager to see what exceptions existed, like that of the Mist Duo

"No, no it is not" Tsuna said slightly paled, before frowning and turning to the younger boy calling him by his last name, "And you can call me Tsuna, Negi-sensei, Sawada-san makes me feel old."

"Ah Tsunayoshi-sa-" Negi started, only to be cut off by an uncharacteristically stern Tsuna

"Tsuna." He emphasized, determined to keep another person from using his mouthful of a name

"T-Tsuna then" Negi replied slightly taken off guard by Tsuna's tone, but his nervousness was released when the older boy smiled happily at him, Negi smiled back

* * *

"Uncle" Tsuna replied,

* * *

"Oh, so he's your uncle then?" Negi asked curiously turning back to Tsuna; unfortunately, Tsuna couldn't answer as he and everyone on the Vongola side where busy choking on their tongues at Tsuna's nickname

"Kufufufu" well almost everyone, "Not at all Little Professor, their closer to distant cousins" Mukuro answered beyond amused by the turn of events, and even Hibari opened his eye in curiosity

Had the cub grown his fangs?

* * *

rolling his eyes when the gun cocked at the "nickname".

* * *

"Oh, so that's why their surprised" Mana Tatsumiya whispered to herself unconcerned by the appearance of a firearm, while the rest of her classmates watched horrified as a grown man pointing a gun at a teenager for a mocking nickname.

* * *

"Fine Xanxus then" Tsuna sighed using the man's first name.

* * *

"You seem remarkably calm in such a situation" Mana coolly remarked

Tsuna, not taking his eyes off the vision and so unaware of how **badass** his response would make him sound, merely gave a casual shrug

"It's just a gun, you get used to it" he responded casually not seeing the stunned reactions that the current baby faced version of him was being as cool as the future version, "At worst I would dodged, if I felt really in danger."

Tilting his hat down, Reborn smirked at his Dame-student unintentionally gaining the attention of several of the cool beauties on the opposite side of the room

* * *

Xanxus Vongole', wielder of the **Flames of Wrath,** a particularly destructive mutation of Sky Flames adopted son to one Timoteo Vongole'(thus Tsuna's adopted uncle) and leader of Varia Assassination Squad, did not look like he was having a good morning.

"You sent the Boxer Trash to my office."

Oooooh damn, that's right Ryohei went to bug Lussuria who probably was near Xanxus… which meant he probably got more seriously injured than he should have…it really should bother Tsuna that he doesn't _quite_ care.

"I'm sure he just wanted to make sure you didn't miss my departure."

In the next second Tsuna's body _blurred_ as he avoided the bullet Xanxus shot at his head.

* * *

"See" Tsuna said casually, still missing the stars in the eyes of his subordinates or the awed impressed stares of the other guests

* * *

"Don't fucking lie trash, Boxer trash didn't find me, you sent him for waking you up, so you sent him to wake me up." The red scarred eyed man growled

"…And your response was to come all the way over to this side of the castle" note: the Vongola castle was an actual freaking castle, capable of functioning as almost a small city in and of itself, Varia office(not HQ) was over a mile away on foot. "…You're weird."

The morning ended as it did every day, with shouts, bullets and flames, The Housekeeper staff with less than an hour to go on their shift was _not_ pleased.

 _()()()()()())()()()())(())()())()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()())()()_

He finds him in the living room playing a video game; after running away from Xanxus's fury and quite literally ( _quite bastardly_ ) using a surprised Takashi as a friend shield (Vengeance # 3 achieved), he decided to search out his little **Lightening Guardian**.

Yamamato winced at the untimely "end" of his future self

* * *

"New rule, no one mess with Sawada's sleep" Hana droned as she watched the final petty vengeance reeked, "Ever"

She received murmurs of agreement, while Tsuna muttered that he wasn't _that bad…_ yet.

* * *

Unlike everyone else, Lambo Bovino has avoided him like the plague, hardly acknowledging his presence; after Tsuna graduated high school and moved to Italy full time, he found it harder and harder to find time for the youngest ( _by only two months Tsunaaaa_ ) of their little group. The fact that he's leaving before Lambo's break from school is up is probably all the worse.

Ten-year-old Lambo sits on the sofa supposedly dead to the world outside of his game… which Tsuna immediately knows to be crap because one, if he didn't care he wouldn't be up at this ungodly hour in the first place. And two, he wouldn't have made so much noise in the morning so that Tsuna would _know_ he was awake at this ungodly hour.

* * *

"That's that brat" Ayaka said in disbelief, comparing the wavy haired, and honestly _good looking_ for his age brat on 'screen' to the puffy haired snotty brat drooling on the floor

"Ai, Lambo-sama's the best, gyahahah" the little cow themed child cheered, oblivious to her skeptical tone

"He's starting to look like his adult self" Tsuna mused aloud gaining Negi's attention

"Oh, he has an adult form too?" Negi asked curiously, getting Tsuna's attention

"Too?"

"I guess it's true about their being something in the water that makes handsome" Chisame muttered

"Where can I get some?" Natsumi whispered back

"Better watch out for the president, kid" Asuna said, unable to resist the jibe

"And what is that supposed to mean you Ape!?" an outraged Ayaka snarled snapping her neck to her rival

"Isn't he you're usual prey shotacon?" Asuna sniped

"Look whose talking grave digger!?" Ayaka growled back

Asuna, suddenly very aware of who was in the room, suddenly went quiet, abruptly turning back to the vision

Ayaka, not expecting the easy win, stared at her in confusion and (extremely, minimally, slight) concern, before following her example

Across the room Negi finished giving Tsuna and an extremely interested Gokudera a quick run down on he and Kotaro's adult forms, unaware that Chisame was worryingly glancing down the line at Ako to make sure the girl wasn't listening. Thankfully she wasn't, but to hurry things along she shushed them, and made them pay attention

* * *

"Lambo" he calls

"Mhmm"

"I'm about to take off here soon."

"K"

"I'll be very busy for the next few months, so we probably won't get much time to hang out."

"We don't hang out now." Lambo response in the same dead tone he's been using since the beginning of their conversation, his eyes haven't left the console in his hand, but Tsuna knows he felt Tsuna's flinch at the words nonetheless.

"S-still, I'd like a goodbye y'know."

"Bye" Lambo says uncaringly, and where Tsuna might ordinarily be irritated by Lambo's attitude, _because doesn't he know that Tsuna's trying to change the **world** for him_, he can _feel_ Lambo's emotions through his flames-their frustration, bitterness, **hurt**.

And all Tsuna can do is think about when he was a child watching his own father walk out the door time and time again and how _freaking long_ it took for them to make up, about the awkward moments that _still_ snuck into conversations; because kids don't care your trying to protect the world, _protect **them**_ , only that they love you, need you and how you. Are. Not. _There_.

"O-okay then. I'll see you later Lambo?" it comes out a question because he doesn't know if Lambo _does_ want to see him later, and his eyes are burning, and Tsuna can't believe he's going to cry over a rejection from a _ten-year-old_.

"Yeah, whatever" Heart breaking just a little, Tsuna walks out the room.

* * *

Present Tsuna looked crushed at other Lambo's dismissal, ' _guess not everything in the future is for the better'_

He never thought he would be the one to pull an Iemitsu Sawada, at least he wasn't a compulsive liar, the information that the future versions of him and his father had apparently reconciled had been taken without much notice

Gokudera almost, _almost_ , picked a fight with the little boy, but Tenth had already had to admonish him countless time in the last hour; guess the UMA had been right about them "lower life forms" not being able to handle their emotions being broadcasted.

Besides Hayato Gokudera was not a hypocrite, and he wasn't blind to mirror image with his _own_ father, that he _still_ hadn't spoken with despite the future Nee-san clearing the air about his mother's demise

Everyone else in the room, sensing the unspoken privacy of the moment, held their silence and looked on

* * *

"TRASH!" Tsuna jumps at the sound of Xanxus voice, apparently Takeshi didn't hold him off long, and upon running up to him Xanxus frowns.

"The fuck are you doing trash?" he demands

"Ah, I'm just saying bye to Lambo, do you need anything?" he asks hoping to distract to violent Sky.

But Xanxus only glares at the way he came from, tells him 'not to fuckin move' and enters the room. Tsuna can't help but stare after him, really too stunned to move even if he tried.

There's a bang from inside, the sound of Lambo's whine which makes Tsuna's mama bear instincts flare and almost has him stepping inside, before Xanxus is back with Lambo gripped in his arm,

"You know the world we live in trash baby, that's your father" he hisses lowly

"Brother" Lambo mumbles mutinously before flinching and taking a giant step behind Tsuna at Xanxus's glare, with that the scarred man stalks off, apparently done with the both of them.

A long silence passes in the hallway, both of them a little off put by the violent whirl of emotions known as Xanxus; a beat later Tsuna feels tiny arms wrap around his waist.

"I don't want you to go." A small voice mumbles into his shirt, and Tsuna wraps his arm around the younger boy.

"I know kid, I know."

"My birthday's coming up" he mumbles still refusing to move his head from Tsuna's shirt.

Tsuna pulls him back anyway, "And what on earth made you think I wouldn't show up for that."

"You're leaving for a year. _Minimum_ " the young boy stresses the point Tsuna made to him and the others two weeks ago.

"I'm going to _live_ there, that doesn't mean I won't be visiting." Lambo scoffs, but even so a second later he asks hesitantly,

"Really"

"Of course" Tsuna exclaims, "First Sundays are Law."

Three years ago when their oldest Kyoya graduated high school, Tsuna realized just how hard it would be for all his family to stay in contact with each other, so he enforced a Saturday night dinner. Then two years later when _he_ graduated and they all started spreading out across the _world_ the dinners were changed to the First Sunday, when every Mafioso rather hypercritically showed up to church. It was as peaceful a time as it was ever going to be, and the most likely time he could gather everyone.

Tsuna a notorious cheapskate hadn't been sure about continuing them given as the he himself was the host would be in another country this time, but looking down at the now embarrassed happy face of his little brother decided it was worth it to dip into his ridiculous wealth if it meant having all his loved ones together at least one day a month.

"I'll be seeing you in two weeks Lambo"

"See you in two weeks Tsuna-nii"

' _Just one more stop now'_

* * *

There were several sniffles in the room as the more emotional members in the room got caught up in the moment of the two brothers (or father and son depending on how you looked at it) had a heartwarming moment

Smiling, Tsuna reached down and patted the head of the oblivious cow child

"Thank you, Lambo" he said warmly to the little boy, he didn't think he would be able to take it if their relationship deteriorating like his and Iemitsu's.

And thanks to _Xanxus_ of all people

But the child merely looked at him with confused eyes

"Stupid Tsuna, you should get on your knees when you give thanks to the great Lambo-sama" the boy said with annoying condescendence, destroying any heartfelt moments

"Like hell, you shitty brat" Gokudera snapped, immediately snatching the child up and rubbing his knuckles harshly in the head

"Gah, get off me Stupidera!" the boy struggled, kicked and screamed, but Gokudera held on tight

"Hell no! Who taught you shit like that, who do you think you are you little brat!" Gokudera barked, still rubbing his knuckles in the boy's head. Though anybody could see, he wasn't being as harsh as he could be, and for all Lambo's squirming, he wasn't trying anywhere near as hard as he could to escape.

Most of the teens and adults watched the scene with smiles.

Most

Chizuru suddenly crossed over the invisible line separating the two groups and stood in front of the two boys with a pleasant smile, making them stop

"I can appreciate that boys will be boys with the roughhousing" she said with an oh so _pleasant_ smile, "But, Gokudera-kun, was it? Could please refrain from using curse words in front of children, hmm?"

"Wha-?"

"Please?"

"I-"

" **Please"**

Gulping, both boys huddled together and nodded their heads frantically

"Thank you!" Chizuru cheered, menacingly _pleasant_ smile, relaxed into something warmer

Instead of skipping back to "their side" of the room, the big… hearted… girl settled down on the cushioned floor and began striking up a conversation with the kids

There was a subtle shifting from the male dominated couches, as the scary but no less very attractive young woman sat near them

"Naba-san is scary" Tsuna whispered to Negi; Kotaro who had been sitting next them a moment ago, popped his head out from under the physically impossible for him to fit under couch

"You have no idea" he whispered, his eyes vacant and scarred from events passed

"Well my other self said there was one last stop" Tsuna suddenly spoke up, trying to change the subject, "What could that be, wouldn't I just go to Mahora?"

"So forgetful Dame-Tsuna" Reborn admonished, "The Ninth promised you would deal with the Vindice remember"

Like a bucket of cold water in the early morning, everyone suddenly found themselves suddenly alert, and eager to watch what came next

Hibari had sat to his full attention, Mukuro stopped playing with whatever he was doing, even the Arcobaleno stopped their whispered squabbling, while Tsuna himself went deathly pale

Sensing their neighbors tension, the Mahora side straightened and turned their attention to the 'screen' as well

 _()()()()()())()()()())(())()())()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()())()()_

* * *

Lukas Burton, not for the first time in his admittedly short life regrets ever joining the Mafia, despite the fact that he didn't really join so much as he was born into it, 

and his father was a rapidly rising underboss for the newly established Milliefiore-Giglio Nero Division.

* * *

"Who the heck is this scrub?" Gokudera grumbled, looking unimpressed

"And why is he bringing up Milliefiore?" Gamma grumbled back just as darkly; it would be a cold day in hell, before he let that insane Sky near his boss, alternate timeline or not.

"So, you don't know him?" questioned

"His last name is the same as someone I know whose pretty big in our American division", Gamma answered looking contemplative, "this could be his son, though I can see he wouldn't be old enough to do much of note in our timeline."

* * *

Right now Lukas is hugging the side of a frozen mountain as he and the other girl from Milliefiore-Gesso Division- hike up the suddenly very steep incline.

* * *

Gamma growled, so they were Gesso, why on Earth were they doing business with Byakuran?!

"Why on Earth are they climbing a mountain?" Kuzunoha asked incredulous, but only received shaking heads from the teens across the room.

Mafioso are weird

* * *

No, unbelievably, it's not the fact that he's climbing up the mountain of a foreign country that's making him regret mafia life, though it's definitely not helping his nonexistent decision.

"Hurry up newbie, you spend any more time down there, I'll think you're getting a free show!"

Lukas hurriedly continues his trek, not that it _wouldn't_ be an excellent view, but he's heard _things_ about this girl, Iris, and what she does to men she seduces.

* * *

"Oh… her" Tsuna grimaced

"You know her, Tsuna?" Yamamato asked, having never seen the woman in his life, and curious about his friend's uncharacteristic distaste

"We fought at Milliefiore base in Japan" Tsuna explained, not having to go into detail about it being during their horrific trip to the future; no explanation was needed for the type of characters that could have been found there, "You don't want to know about the men she seduces, it's… not pretty."

Of all his battles, fighting Iris had been one of the most horrifying; fighting crazy bastards like Byakuran or Mukuro, or wrathful ones like Xanxus was one thing. They were simply humans, messed up people, but people nonetheless who needed a good beatdown to let them know they couldn't just do what they wanted to the world without consequence.

The creatures Iris had formed out of those scientist bodies had long ago lost their humanity, and their grotesquely expanded muscles only made the image more disturbing, but that was far from the worst of it.

Never once had Tsuna wished to turn off his Hyper Intuition so bad during a fight, because if seeing the monsters they had become was bad; then looking into the tortured souls they used to be, crying out for help, was infinitely worse.

They were the first living beings to feel the X-Burner, and Tsuna hadn't particularly cared if they'd survived or not… he wasn't sure which result would be the mercy; he sincerely hoped her younger version was much better.

* * *

On top of that they're now technically family and no one smart hits on female family- though considering how distant the two divisions are, their particular situation would be exempt;… STILL it was just bad professionally speaking.

* * *

"Did he just make an incest reference?" Seruhiko made sure to whisper as lowly as possible to his colleagues

Getting them to frown in contemplation and replay Mr. Burton's thoughts

"I think that was the joke, yes" Shizuna whispered back after a moment

"I think he has romance a little more on the brain than he's willing to admit" Takahata deduced getting nods from the others

* * *

"I'm coming alright! Excuse me if I've never climbed a mountain in some frozen wasteland before!"

"It's been twelve minutes newbie, and we took a car most of the way up!"

"Yeah yeah" he mutters, Iris isn't adding to his enthusiasm for the job either come to think of it.

"Hurry up before Vongola leaves!"

Her warning does the trick and Lukas spurs himself at a faster rate, that's right Vongola Decimo was with them on this trip. He and his right hand had arrived with business suits and briefcases and not even a summer jacket, apparently they were both skilled enough to use their flames to keep themselves warm.

Lukas had to let out an appreciative whistle at the level of control it took to do that, manifesting flames at all was hard enough to do let alone keep just a small barely visible level of heat wrapped around them.

' ** _Kufufufu, you know nothing of true control, boy'_**

* * *

The creepy laugh was enough to get the Vongola's to jolt in their seats, and Hibari opened his eyes with a scowl

"Mukuro… are you…?" Tsuna trailed off, looking questionably to the darker Mist Guardian

"Kufufufu" Mukuro raised an eyebrow now looking thoroughly invested, "Well this just got much more interesting~"

* * *

A black voice said in the back of his head, a moment later Lukas mumbles out loud confused,

"True control?"

"BURTON!"

"I'M COMING" Lukas screams immediately forgetting about dark thoughts, _'Dark thoughts what?'_

* * *

"He doesn't remember" Takahata noted, more to clarify the confused looks on his students face "he doesn't remember hearing a voice in his head."

His voice wasn't accusing in the slightest, but there was a grave seriousness to it, that created some worry in the viewers for Burton's safety

"Is it a ghost possession?" Asakura asked aloud curiously, her mind on her friend Sayo

"Please don't say things like that so casually" Akira pleaded, with mafia and magic, you never knew _what_ could turn up in the world

* * *

"There you guys are I was beginning to think we'd lost you guys" says a chocolate warm voice, and Lukas looks to see the smiling warm face of the Vongola Decimo.

He's younger than Lukas thought he would be, younger than Lukas himself by a good few years, maybe less it's hard to tell, he just has one of those eternally young faces.

"Bout fuckin time", the young man grumbles next to him, Decimo's right hand, just as young but far more intimidating. Silver hair almost making him invisible in this snow, but green eyes glow, glaring at him like a snow leopard observing prey…and finding it lacking.

"S-sorry" Lukas apologized teeth chattering, not entirely from the cold

"Ignore him Sr. Burton", the Decimo says politely, his polite address unknowingly making him seem even younger, "he always gets in a huffy mood when we have to visit them."

The silverette proves his point by huffing, but Lukas is not focused on that, but rather Decimo's words have abruptly reminded him of exactly _why_ he'd been regretting his life choices. Not because of the Vongola, no, the young man is surprisingly warm like home and chocolate and Lukas knows that if he wasn't already claimed by Princepessa Yuni flames, he'd definitely go Vongola.

No Lukas is regretful because of the figures he can see just up ahead, dark cloaks and bandaged faces watching them. Not with eyes, there are no eyes, but watching them nonetheless.

Vindice

The boogeymen of Cosa Nostra, the keepers of Mafia Law, guardians of Vendicare Prison.

"So Vendicare is on top of a snowy mountain?" Akira asked rhetorically even as across from her the younger silverette was scribbling notes rapidly, recording everything he could about his boss's encounter with the keepers of Mafia Law

' ** _Home sweet home, Kufufufu'_** a voice in the back of his head whispered, Lukas ignored it, and moments later forgot it.

 _Why am I here again?_

Because apparently the Vongola Decimo had a meeting with their leader, _AND HOLY CRAP THOSE RUMORS WERE TRUE!,_ and it needed someone to represent Gesso and Gigilio Nero Famiglias.

All the important people were apparently too busy and, _DO YOU HONESTLY EXPECT US TO LET THE PRINCIPESSA ALONE WITH THOSE MONSTERS,_ Division Chief Gamma had yelled at him when he asked why him.

* * *

"My ass, I'd let that happen" Gamma confirmed sternly, to the amusement of his Sky

* * *

Which basically translated to him as being disposable, really feeling the love family.

* * *

 _'Poor guy'_ was the general thought of everyone in the room

* * *

 _Why hadn't he gone traitor again_ oh right because Principessa Yuni had batted those big blues and he hadn't been able to say no to her.

He'd asked Iris why she was a representative for Boss Byakuran; her answer had been simple,

" _His right hand is too busy looking after the rest of the psychopaths, and the Boss himself would probably deliberately piss them off for his own amusement"_

Right, why were their Famiglia's merging again?

* * *

"That's what I'd like to know" Gamma grumbled, but his Sky merely patted him soothingly on the shoulder

"Relax Gamma, remember what Tsunayoshi said; they are not us, and we don't know the circumstances that led them here" she soothed, "Byakuran has obviously done something to proof his trust in the eyes of that Yuni and Gamma."

At the mention that his other self was almost certainly involved in the merger, Gamma finally allowed himself to relax, especially at the reminder that no matter what he saw didn't have to have implications for their own world.

* * *

"Right" Decimo says with a clap of his hands, "We best not keep them waiting."

"Not even a little wait" Lukas heard himself say, but Decimo merely laughed as if he'd told a joke. Lukas idly notes that in bright morning light that the younger man's eyes are actually a startling burnt orange and not the brown he originally assumed, before striding in.

* * *

There was yet another pause, as several people in the room turned their attention to Tsuna, to confirm his eye color

"W-what?" Tsuna asked, off put by the random attention

"N-nothing Tenth" Gokudera asked embarrassed to be caught staring into his Boss's eyes

Konoka, having no such shame and feeling she had gotten silently close to the young man, stood up and immediately put her face in his, even cupping his chin so he wouldn't move

"Wow, they really are more orange than brown" Konoka beamed, somehow missing the intense blush that took over her subject of observation's face, "They're like cinnamon, tasty!"

Well, _that_ certainly didn't make his blush go away

Oblivious, or perhaps uncaring, of the minor stir she caused, the teenage girl happily returned to her seat.

Either way, another barrier had been broken between the two groups

* * *

" ** _Vongola Decimo"_** said the black figure on the right

* * *

The groups shivered

* * *

Lukas whimpered, beside him Iris shifted, and Vongola's Right Hand narrowed his eyes but otherwise doesn't react.

Decimo merely smiles politely and responds with a nod to each black figure

"Jack" he nods to the one on the right, "Alejandro" he nods to the one on the left casually.

'…'

* * *

"Jack" Tsuna let out a strangled choke on the name

"Alejandro" Asuna said in her own stone faced deadpan

"What else would their names be Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn sniped, just to be difficult despite his own well-hidden surprise, "Skull Squisher, Death Reaper?"

"Not Jack!" Tsuna snapped, irritated that he was embarrassed

* * *

From the corner of his eye he sees Iris's dumbfounded expression at the casual address, and is sure there's a similar one on his face.

' _THEY HAVE NAMES!? MORE IMPORTANTLY WHAT'S WITH THOSE AVERAGE SOUNDING NAMES, HOW CAN HE EVEN TELL THE DIFFERENCE!?_ _'_

* * *

The viewing room concurred with Lukas's very appropriate internal reaction

* * *

Lukas is sure right then and there that this kind of meeting of powers is definitely above his pay grade.

" ** _Why are you here?"_** the one on the left asks, and it's just as nightmare inducing as Lukas always tried not to imagine it being.

Decimo's face goes oddly serious, as he pulls something from his suit jacket; a second later Lukas sees it's a letter with a black flame on top. Black?

* * *

The unknown Flame was enough to make the Arcobaleno in the room straighten

"What is that?" Mammon muttered under… it's… breath

* * *

"We have a meeting with Bermuda." He calls out before handing the letter to his right hand, who in turn hands it to the one called 'Jack', Jack doesn't even scan it, just puts it his coat.

" **Proceed"**

'…'

"Bermuda?" Iris asks after a tension fraught moment where they actually had to walk past the monsters.

"There boss", Right Hand answers

"Oh/Oh" Both he and Iris respond, he didn't even know there was a Boss. What kind of monster does it take to keep a legion of monsters in line?

There's silence as they walk, and not even Decimo says anything to lighten the mood. This place is a place of death and hatred.

* * *

The vision took the time to show the long corridor the group of four were walking through. Stone walls, only lit by old fashioned torches, and even then, there were gaps between the light leaving pockets of total darkness.

On top of that, there was a clear muted silences so engulfing, even the breathing of visitors seemed unnaturally loud. It was… unnerving

"I-it's worse than the haunted house aru" Kū mumbled, as she unconsciously pulled her legs up in her seat, as if to not risk the blackness touching her

"Really quiet too" Yuna said in her own unconscious whisper, "You'd expect a place like that to be filled with the tortured screams of its victims…"

There was a pause as all the teens cringed at the mental image the teenage girl painted

"…What?" she asked curiously when she noticed most of the room staring at her

"What do you mean what!?" a freaked out Asuna exclaimed in a louder than necessary tone, trying to fill the unnerving silence, "What the heck is wrong with you!? Why would you say something like that!?"

"Ah, it just seemed like something that would happen in a horror flick y'know" she answered a bit sheepishly

"Kufufufu" the laugh that came from the Vongola side sent the hairs on the back of their necks standing straight up, a laugh that was suddenly very familiar…

"Of course, not Yuna Akashi" Mukuro chuckled, his disturbing red eye on the girl across the room, "This is merely the top most level of the prison, a maze of identical corridors."

Mukuro's smile suddenly took a crazed sadistic look, as his next words came out a sinister whisper

"The tortured screams come from the lower levels, deep in the belly of the mountain" his eyes narrowed as his final words came out with a sadistic relish, " _… at least from those who can still scream, that is. **Kufufufu**_ "

The fact that his entire speech had been accompanied by the illusion sounds of tortured screams, before ending with his creepy laugh echoing through the room

"Grglb"

"Ako, Makie!" Akira screamed as she caught her pale faced friends from fainting

"Lambo! Tsuna!" Gokudera was immediately on his knees shaking his boss, while Ryohei had scooped up the traumatized five-year-old, and was shaking him twice too hard

" **Kufufufu"**

"Grglib"

"Would you knock it off already!" Asuna screamed, scared tears at the corner of her eyes; behind her Konoka was mockingly hiding behind (and hiding her smile behind) a pale jittery Setsuna, while a gently laughing Chizuru was trying to coax Negi out from under the couch where he had joined Kotaro.

Evangeline through her head back and laughed, her own "evil mage" laugh

"Mukuro-sama please stop, we have to finish this vision" Chrome's quiet voice put in, completely undisturbed by her master's antics

The Demon Mist smirked, but stayed quiet his job done, the scene was mostly passed by the time everyone really settled down

* * *

Before long they reach a room, that looks surprisingly normal, and its clearly some kind of office. At the desk of the office sits a man in a white button up and a familiar top hat, his face could almost be called babyish, until he looks up and Lukas is greeted with the coldest, blackest orbs he's ever seen. It's the eyes, that prevent him from looking remotely human; theirs hate in those eyes, _old_ hate; so deep and terrible it reminds Lukas of an old saying he once heard,

" _When you look into the Abyss, the Abyss also looks into you"_

* * *

"He's… not human" Mana was the first to speak after a moment spent examining the creature's appearance; considering her own heritage and former profession, she considered herself something of an expert on the subject.

"The Vindice long gave up their humanity" Reborn stated evenly, taking in the imbalanced proportions of the man's body.

But that wasn't what had his attention in the slightest

"On his neck" Colonel mumbled beside him, careful not to let his voice carry

They'd all seen it, the crystal-clear pacifier, hanging from his neck

Clenching his fist, the baby hitman had to resist a rare moment of rage, not to go to that hunched over freak of nature and start demanding answers. That would get them nowhere, and the thing could choose to stop the viewing and send them away like children.

Reborn clenched his teeth, this was infuriatingly frustrating

"It's clear, these visions have more wisdom to offer than we previously anticipated" Fon said in that faux ancient Chinese wisdom voice that used to irritate him before they were cursed; nowadays he'd come to appreciate the effort the man took to reign his temper, Reborn's own terrifying reaction to the curse seemed downright tame in comparison, "We will have to keep our minds cool and sharp"

"Does Princepessa Yuni know anything about this" Mammon asked in an almost gentle tone, they all reserved for speaking to the Sky Princess

The girl in question merely shook her head

"I can't _see_ anything in this timeless void" she answered apologetically, "If it's to happen in our universe, then it was still beyond my sight before we came here, and I cannot see the past."

"A former Arcobaleno?" Skull asked in uncharacteristic seriousness stirring the others; the lackey's thoughts were usually wild and unrestrained, but there was a reason he was a tactics consultant for the Karkassa Famiglia- he had a knack for thinking outside the box

"One who broke his curse" Verde continued following along the Cloud's thoughts, "It could mean that all the Vindice are former Arcobaleno, who else would have such strength?"

A plausible theory, and a frightening one… if only for the hope it could bring

Hope… such a dangerous thing to offer men and women who'd long lost theirs…

* * *

"Vongola Decimo", his voice is…softer than the bandage ones outside. Softer, but even more terrifying because of it. Like a black poison, silky and smooth, seeping into their skin. Lukas feels the urge to clean himself.

"Lord Bermuda" Decimo nods, but doesn't bow to, "I believe you know why we're here"

"I read your letter" Bermuda intones softly, "You wish to repeal the law separating the two worlds"

Ah yes, worlds, plural. Apparently there was a magical world living right alongside them this entire time, who knew? Except apparently the people in this room who are all vastly above the pay grade of a reasonably intelligent gopher like him; Lukas gulps and remains silent, and doesn't ask for a seat even as Decimo sits in the only available one left in the room.

"Yes that's correct, I believe my letter informed you, that the wall keeping the Magicals from public knowledge would be crashing down soon and we wish to keep the fallout from being to expansive." Somehow it doesn't sound nearly as silly when Decimo is the one to say it

"I know, what of it" the man, Bermuda responds

"What of it?" Decimo asks, seeming confused though Lukas is sure he's not, Lukas wishes he was, "If the law isn't repealed, a lot of people will die in the chaos as we can't give them aid without breaking the separation."

* * *

"Vindice ALWAYS enforce their laws" Reborn clarified to the room, unusually chatty with his current dilemma in mind "Right, wrong, ignorant doesn't matter. If magic is exposed, Vindice will hall away anyone that tries to put Costra Nostra in danger by interacting with them."

"What that's ridiculous!" Ayaka yelled, outraged by injustice of such a so-called law force

"That's Costra Nostra" was Reborn's unrepentant reply

More than one person in the room looked outraged, but Reborn cut them off

"Don't forget the people you're about to defend are thieves and killers" he said cutting off most of the protest, most

Ayaka Y, was not most people

"Their still human" Ayaka protested passionately, "And all humans have basic unalienable rights"

"U.S. Declaration of Independence?" the baby hitman asked, not taking her seriously in the slightest, much to the young woman's ire

"We'll change it" a young voice cut in before they could continue

Both turned to the fluffy Tuna, who had remained silent since the entering of the prison; he hadn't been oblivious to the comments flying around… well not completely oblivious, there was a brief infatuation at watching his older self handle the situation so easily, but that didn't blind him from the horror that was Vendicare, nor to Mukuro's no doubt true accounts of its lower levels

The blond girl was right, it wasn't human, and it needed to stop

Reborn was less impressed

"Oh, are you finally acknowledging your claim to Decimo?" he asked, watching the boy flinch; it was good that he was standing up and having a voice, but impossible things were impossible

"We'll figure it out" Tsuna said earnestly, surprisingly for him not backing down

Reborn wasn't so sure, but if his Dame student could be motivated to taking his rightful seat, by some drive to see justice, then so be it. The Ninth never wanted a _mafioso_ for the tenth boss anyway

* * *

"We do not decide the law, only enforce it; your coming here means nothing." Bermuda replied, "Is it not the job of the **Three Great Skies** , to create the law that governs our world."

* * *

"Mare, Vongola, and Arcobaleno" Yuni this time clarified

"And those are?" Ayaka asked still upset and eager for more information on this messed up justice system

"The Three Great Skies" Reborn cut in, in a tone that said 'Aren't-you-paying-attention', just to aggravate the girl. Pissing off students was really his most healthy form of stress relief he could take

"Their the three Sky's that hold the pieces of the Trissinette" Yuni answered

"And _that_ is?" she trailed off meaningfully, but the little girl merely smiled at her and shook her head, before pointing to pay attention to the vision

Ayaka huffed and Natsume patted her, it was a good effort

* * *

"True, but your cooperation is as always needed. We cannot change the law if we do not know how it was created."

"That is not our problem"

A thick silence enters the room, and Lucas notices an anger growing in the Decimo. Dark eyes flash bright orange, and suddenly Lukas can't remember how on earth he saw the man sitting next to him as a boy.

"If we do not change the law," Decimo bites out slowly, bitter heat warming the frigid cold air, "People will die out of ignorance of a law they don't know even exists."

"Not our problem." Bermuda smirks evilly and Lukas feels cold panic seep into his soul; _this_ was the Vindice, the merciless boogeyman, the punishers of those who can't be punished by the law. Dear God, WHY IS HE HERE!?

"You as the keeper of said law" Decimo grits out, and Lukas can _feel_ angry sky flames brushing against his soul, it makes him sick "will be the ones exacting punishment, this can't be more _your problem_ if you tried."

"Then I guess you better find me proper incentive, Sawada-Vongole'" Bermuda responds with his arrogant smirk.

The Sawada part of the name goes over Lukas's head, but the threat does not, he is an intelligent gopher after all, hence the reason he was sent on this job on the first place. The Decimo has something Vindice wants and is going to hold untold amount of lives hostage over it. Lukas gulps, was this what meetings between the top brass was like? Lukas is suddenly very glad he's just a little fish in a big pond, it's scary at the top.

On a side note, he's suddenly not so eager for a promotion anymore, who cares that he'd worked over time for three months straight, that just meant he was good at his job where he was.

For his part Decimo merely narrows his eyes dangerously,

"No."

Such a simple word, but it makes his heart stop,

"Then no to your request"

and Lukas wonders if he has time to call his loved ones and tell them… tell them what, get out of the planet, cause shits about to hit the fan in an unspecified amount of time?

"This is your job" Decimo tries to reason

"My job is to guard the Trissinette", Bermuda replies blandly

The Arcobaleno jerked, more evidence that Vindice had connections to the Arcobaleno system

"A self-appointed job"

"And this isn't"

"…"

"…"

"…I don't wanna" Decimo…pouts?

"Neither do I"

"Can't you ask for something else", Decimo…whines? Seriously what is it that Vindice wants from Vongola?

"No"

"I'll be your best friend."

* * *

Several choked at Tsuna's response, what was he doing!?

* * *

"No"

"I send you some expensive wine"

"No"

"… I'll bring you into the Famiglia", beside him he hears Iris choke, and Hand palms his face

"…Boss"

"That is what _you_ want Sawada-Vongole'" the Vindice boss deadpans

"…Can I take time to think about it?"

"…Boss"

"Take all the time you need, just don't take up mind" with a slam of his fist chains wreathed in black fire appear around them. Lukas hears screaming

* * *

Several people in the room jumped at the scream

Seruhiko-sensei in particular, who had acquired some popcorn, was the victim of a particularly bad 'movie-watching-jump-scare' scare

and looks to see Decimo and Hand still look relaxed, Iris has made a break for the door.

* * *

' _Oh, the screaming one is me'_

"FINE!" Decimo yells, and the chains stop, there's a 'thump' by the door and Lukas turns to see a shaken Iris being dropped by another Vindice Member he hadn't realized was in the room.

A quick glance behind him shows several more, and Lukas didn't know it was possible to feel this unsafe. Like waking up and going on about your day only to find your house has been transported half way off the edge of a cliff and realizing you could have killed yourself at any moment if you were a touch less careful.

* * *

Sighs of relief went through the room, and several people patted their chests, as the scene didn't end in a murder

Seeing it on the big screen was difficult enough not to get nightmares

Seeing/feeling it from a real-life portal of a world where there were certainly people who were _you_ , was a much more difficult trauma to brush off

Tsuna in particular, who was just pessimistic enough about the Mafia society to realize that sooner or later things _would_ turn violent, was not eager to see the spill of blood

… He had enough nightmares about that from his own experiences…

* * *

Lukas swallows when Decimo looks resigned, and can't help but shudder in horror at what he's just traded the Vindice in exchan-

"I, Serafino Tsunayoshi Sawada-Vongole', swear as Vongola Decimo that you Bermuda von Veckenschtein, will no longer owe me a favor."

The Decimo pouts and Vindice merely leans back looking smug

* * *

"…"

"…"

"…What?"

"WHAT!" both teens screamed at Vision-Tsuna

"You got us all worked up over something that stupid!?" Asuna yelled, turning her blame to the current Tsuna, as if he would explain his future self's actions

"H-hold on Kagurazaka" Tsuna said waiving his hands, "I'm sure they'll explain!"

"Oi, don't yell at the Tenth!"

"Of course, I'm gonna yell" Asuna snapped not backing down, "What kind of reason is that-"

"Sit down silly girl" Mukuro interjected, just wanting the whole Vindice trip to be over; he only had so much time in this void, and he didn't want to spend it in an illusionary version of his prison, "Like Tsunayoshi said, it'll be explained."

"Asuna" Negi pleaded, and the girl eventually crossed her arms and sat

* * *

"Bargain accepted"

' _What',_ Lukas thinks trading his fourth in as many minutes, 'Are-you-seeing-this-too-?' glances with Iris

' _WHAT!? ALL THAT FOR ONE MEASLY FAVOR!?_ '

' ** _Kufufufu, how much do you think a favor from_ them _is worth, little one. Let alone several'_** a soon forgotten voice in his head whispers

"Great," Decimo grouses, pouting furiously in what he must think is an intimidating manner, "Can you show us the original transcript detailing how the law came about?"

Bermuda raises his hand and a black flame appears, before he sticks his hand _through it_ , arm disappearing as he rifles through what looks like some pocket dimension from a sci-fi show-

Decimo turns at that exact moment and looks Lukas square in the eye, his own flashing neon orange,

' ** _Understood'_** a voice from nowhere important whispers, and suddenly a pressure Lukas hadn't realized was in his head disappears leaving him feeling slightly light headed. Before he can even wrap his head around what happen there is a thud on Bermuda's desk as the man (?) slaps a heavy old looking document on it.

* * *

The illusionists in the room narrowed their eyes, an idea of the situation starting to form in their heads

* * *

"The Gordian Accords"

"A knot unbreakable to all wisdom except by that of a giant blade, huh, ironic?"

It's only a second later when he sees Iris's 'What-the-hell-are-you-doing-idiot" look that he realizes he spoke out loud and flushes horribly at the sudden attention.

"Who are your pawns" Bermuda questions the Decimo

"Gophers actually," Lukas interrupts the most powerful man in the mafia, and can't for the life of him understand why he suddenly lacks his brain to mouth filter, "sent on behalf of the other two members of the **Three Great Skies** "

Lukas does not miss the very obvious step Iris takes away from him, Right hand mutters something about nervous talkers.

"He wasn't nervous, just scared as shit, completely sure of that- nothing to be nervous about that"

It's only when he sees Decimo's shoulders shaking and his lips twitching even as his eyes look so horribly sympathetic, that Lukas realizes that he's spoken out loud again. Thankfully the others in the room have apparently decided to ignore the mumblings of a suicidal idiot.

"Your still talking out loud suicidal idiot" Right Hand mumbles

"L-lets see what we got to work with here", Lukas appreciates Decimo's attempt to keep the meeting moving, even if he can hear his restrained laughter.

"Gordian Accords, to thou set for which sveet vords oove, ah hell it's written in Old Italian, Regulus can you read this?" he asks the now named Right Hand **Regulus**.

* * *

"Regulus?" Tsuna asked looking confused, and then even more so when a teary eyed Gokudera suddenly bowed to him

"Tenth, I am honored to bear such a name!" the passionate boy bowed, unintentionally freaking out his boss, "I will wear it with pride, and do my best not to shame the Vongola."

"What?" Tsuna said trying to calm his Storm, while looking at Reborn for explanation

"Give it a moment to see if it's explained Dame-Student"

* * *

Regulus like the stars? Weren't Vongola Guardians supposed to be codenamed after food? He knew for a fact that Vongola Nono's Guardians were codenamed after French pastries. Their codenames used so often that their birth names became lost to time, Lukas didn't even know Decimo's name until today, let alone Vongola Nono's real name.

Then again Varia was Vongola and they were codenamed after demons depicting the seven deadly sins…then again they _were_ Varia after all.

* * *

"Wait really?" Tsuna asked surprised, "You mean that's not Xanxus and them's real names?"

"Xanxus's name is still Xanxus idiot, it's the Guardians who are given code names" Mammon sniped from above

"Of course really Dame Tsuna" Reborn said double teaming him, "Who on earth would name a child Belephor or Leviathan?"

"…Who on earth would name a child Reborn?" Tsuna muttered lowly, but not low enough

 **BAM**

"Continue" Reborn stated, ignoring the bleeding form of his student

* * *

"Of course Tenth" Regulus says and takes the document, several moments pass before he speaks up again, "The document was set forth by the Eastern Mage Associations of the Old World (here) and Vongola Segundo, Katerina Giglio Nero, and Demetri Gesso of the Mafia, presided over by Jaeger of Vindice, Jun-Woo of Murim (that's the general society those who fight with Ki belong to) and… Bresseli Shimon?"

"Shimon?" Decimo questioned curiously, "Weren't they in hiding for like two hundred years?"

* * *

There was another invisible bit of tension that seeped into the bones of the two Shimon Famiglia residents, along with some genuine surprise at their inclusion in such a documented event, but mostly tension.

So far the Shimon Famiglia, had been brought up twice, but never at any point had their status been explained in any detail, other than that Tsuna was aware of their power. Did that mean their attack was cancelled? Tsuna Sawada was certainly still alive and on the path to being Decimo. Did their family fail and perish? No animosity could be heard in the Decimo's tone, indeed he sounded friendly and curious whenever they were brought up.

But absence of evidence was not the evidence of absence

No hate being shown, did not prove that there wasn't any bad blood between the groups; and if Lucas Burton continued his role as exposition giver…

Enma and Adel shared a look and a complete understanding passed between the two

No matter what happened, they were swearing ignorance to any information revealed; if the _bastard_ Iemitsu Sawada himself showed up in the flashback of The Flood of Blood incident, then Enma and Adel were ignorant.

Mentally prepared, the two geared for whatever may be revealed

* * *

"Hiding from _your_ Famiglia, Decimo, not the from the rest of the world" Bermuda answered

"Huh"

Huh indeed, The **Shimon Famiglia** had shaken the Mafia world to the core when they'd broke their way into the Vongola Inheritance Ceremony a few years back.

* * *

"What/what?" Enma and Tsuna asked at the same time; in a stroke of brilliant method acting on Enma's part, the two boys shared dumbfounded looks the moment the information passed through Burton's lips.

Enma even went as far as to raise his hands in the universal 'Wasn't-me' sign

"Other world, keep it playing" Adel immediately chimed in, in what was now becoming the catchphrase for suspicious facts or scenes shown in this other world.

Suspicions somewhat eased, the viewers split their attentions back to the vision

* * *

A handful of teenagers making the most powerful names in the business eat dirt in front of all the other powerful names, huge. On top of that they'd reintroduced to the world **The Seven Flames of The Earth** , a power as strong as if not stronger than the common Seven Flames of the Sky that everyone had used since the dawn of Cosa Nostra. To this day Famiglias were killing themselves, literally in some cases, trying to figure out how to activate the rare power. The Shimon had been rising names ever since, especially since their boss was apparently best friend's with Vongola Decimo despite previous incident; the two having apparently bonded during the **Arcobaleno Wars**.

* * *

Relief, cool hard relief, for too many reasons to count flooded Enma

One, they were outed for trashing the ceremony and the Flames of Earth were revealed, but the reaffirmation that he and Tsuna were best friends, all but saved him in that very same breath

Two, Shimon were flourishing in this other world… that, that meant more than words can describe

And third and finally, there was a far more horrifying event would distract the viewers

"A-Arcobaleno wars?" it came out a squeak from the usually gruff Gokudera; and everyone on the Vongola side had similar looks of horrified disbelief

"Shh" Reborn hissed, they needed to hear this

* * *

Arcobaleno Wars, the name sent shudders down anyone who heard them spine; it was rumored that the Vindice themselves had taken part in the 'War of the Best' and that Vongola Decimo had allied himself with them.

Well at least one part of that rumor could now be confirmed

"We were enemies during the battles" Decimo suddenly said, "We became allies after it ended."

At Lukas's blank look he continued, "Your still speaking out loud, anyone ever tell you, you have a gift for exposition" he continued kindly.

Lukas flushed, "Many times, its why I'm used as a gopher for things like this" and oh god would his brain to mouth filter please turn back on soon.

"Lukas Burton, was it" Decimo asked

"Yes sir", blinking when he nodded to his Right Hand who took out his phone 'it gets reception here?' and began typing, a second later the silverette nodded to his boss, who turned back to Lukas,

"I'll be sure to remember it" and Lukas felt his heart stutter, was, was he being noticed by top men?, "It's good to know who can keep their cool during meetings this big"

'Is he being sarcastic'

"I'm not, you're doing better than most would in your position"

'Did I say that out loud again'

"No you just have an easy to read face", Decimo grinned at the deadpan on Lukas's face, before turning back to the table, "Side note, why was Shimon even involved in the first place, I only have Shimon Decimo's recommendation by chance out of sheer preparedness? "

* * *

Several of the Arcobaleno let out huffs of irritation when it became clear that no further details would be given about any war between them.

* * *

"It is the duty of **The Great Earth** , to act as a balance to the Three Great Skies that keep the Trissinette. A rational impartial judge, to you who are the lawmakers and we the punishers" Bermuda answered blithely

' _A Great Earth... huh, new terminology'_

* * *

The two Shimon listened with rapt attention, and so (disturbingly, they noted) did the rest of the Arcobaleno.

Enma had no illusions that they wouldn't be coming back to their attack on the inheritance ceremony, but he hoped that at the very least they had absorbed enough information about this possible future to know they needed to wait for explanations instead of jumping to whatever conclusions.

If only for the sake of peace in the viewing room, and their continued privilege of viewing

* * *

"So, we just need the agreement of Eastern Mage associations (which we have), and the Three great skies (which we have)" he said with a point to himself and a wave to Lukas and Iris, "And a recommendation from Shimon Decimo, you, or a high ranking Murim-in, which I also have from the Shimon (taking out a letter with an inversed burgundy flame Lukas assumed was **Earth Flame** ), which I know you should be able to sense."

At this point Decimo was gritting his teeth, eyebrow twitching, "So we already had everything we needed for you to stop punishment for the law in the first place."

"Yes that seems correct" Bermuda smirked

"So you made me waste a favor for nothing" Decimo grit

"Not for nothing Sawada-Vongole', for ridiculous amounts of money and unnecessary bloodshed." Bermuda said lifting the documents as more black flame appeared.

Once again he was met by orange eyes of the Decimo, which didn't make any sen-

' ** _Safe'_** said a returning pressure in his head.

* * *

"What _is_ that?" Chisame muttered allowed, more than disturbed about whatever implied mental powers/insanity was going on

Hearing her question, several people who recognized the voice automatically cast side eyes to a suspiciously grinning Mukuro

* * *

"Money", Iris muttered to herself probably thinking it was quiet, but echoed in the still silent room.

"Of course" Bermuda said turning to her making her stiffen, "You don't think Vongola actually cares about saving lives do you? We're not insane, if the vast majority of Mafioso become aware of the magical world (which they will when it's exposed to the world) there will be no reason to uphold the law of separation, after a certain amount of favor (7/8ths to be precise) turns to blending the two cultures (for profit reasons mostly), the law will be dropped automatically."

"7/8ths" Lukas interjected, more to get attention off of Iris, they _were_ technically family, "that seems like a large number to change a law."

"We're criminals by nature Burton" Regulus deadpanned, "Obeying any kind of law defeats the purpose of being criminal, which is why they are so few. And why we take them so seriously" his eyes glanced to Bermuda before continuing, "It has to be especially heinous to make a majority of a society of thieves and killers cringe."

* * *

"Which is another reason no questions the Vindice, other than their terrifying powers" Reborn spoke up, mostly directed at the blond girl who had argued their practices, "There are some beings in the world, who not even a saint could forgive. To punish those who can't be punished by the law."

Glaring, it was clear Ayaka did not agree with the spirit of the statement, but rather than comment, she grit her teeth and made note to bring it up as soon as she could with her family.

…And to the Tsuna she was sure she had met before…

* * *

' _Ah right, so wait_ , "Why are we here if the law will be overturned anyway?"

"Greed" Bermuda smirked

"I'm not greedy Bermuda, I actually… you know…give a damn about countless innocent lives" Decimo interrupted sternly

"But it was not you who brought up this idea to overturn the law was it, the people who did aren't as virtuous, their just out to make a profit"

"…You're awfully chatty today." Decimo mumbled

"It is my duty to educate the ignorant, so they don't unknowingly trespass on unwritten laws" Bermuda said hypocritically considering he had just threaten to lead an eventual massacre (though apparently temporary one) on others for exactly that reason.

"Bulg Shigt!" Decimo _sneezed_ , and if it sounded like two other words, Lukas wasn't going to call him out on it.

* * *

Several people rose a brow at the Decimo's brass; Tsuna himself was silently sweating bullets at his older self's impertinence

"Looks like, I haven't yet beat that disrespectful mouth out of you" Reborn commented; it was said as a jibe (and there _was_ a bit of irritation at that particular failure), but there was also some pride

' _I can see the ending'_ Reborn thought _, 'You finally became as I wanted you'_

"Good luck with that, Demon" Tsuna muttered

 _'But not today'_

 **BAAAM**

"It does my heart good, that I have such a willing to learn student" Reborn stated from where he was standing on top of Tsuna's newly crater planted skull; it seems he'd have to feel proud for that rampant mouth later

"T-Tsuna, you alright?" Yamamato asked worriedly, he didn't think he'd ever seen Tsuna take a blow that hard outside of battle

"Of course, he's alright Yamamato" Reborn answered completely unsympathetically over the gurgling noise of his pained student, mind already fixed on new tutoring plans, "It's physically impossible for him to die here, no matter what I do to him; that opens up so many training opportunities for me."

 _He's a Demon_ was the concurrent thought of everyone in the room

* * *

"Sorry I'm allergic to B.S., I think you got some floating in the air" said the only man in the world willing to snark at the Mafia's Boogeyman to his face.

"By removing the law early" Bermuda continued, apparently ignoring the disrespect, to Luka's relief (Decimo had Brass Cajones), "Vongola and Millefiore and Shimon are capable of controlling the flow of who has access to a whole new world, and whole new technologies, medicines, goods, and customers"

Ooooh, that made more sense that a bunch of altruistic Mafioso Famiglias joining together to save the world.

"Which we didn't even need to do at all apparently, since our compliance should have made it moot. You just dragged us up here to waste a favor of mine" Bermuda shrugged unrepentedly.

"…You have a creepy baby face"

"Get out of my prison"

 _()()()()()())()()()())(())()())()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()())()()_

Relief, aching frigidly cold, beautiful relief flooded through him as soon as they slid their way down the mountain side, the hummer limo they'd taken up here just visible in the distance. He was alive, blessedly wholly alive.

* * *

There was a universal sigh of relief from the rooms inhabitants

"Finally" Makie breathed, even going so far as to stretch her muscles at the newly lighted location, "I thought we'd never get out of there."

"I think I'm just ready for them to get off this mountain of doom" Asakura chimed, to the agreement of the rest of the room

Nobody, not even interdimensional viewers, liked to visit the Vindice

* * *

He wasn't the only one feeling it; Now that the doom had passed, Iris had begun flirting uproariously with the two slightly younger men, praising them about how well Decimo had kept his cool, and how intelligent Regulus was to be able to translate Old Italian. Lukas rolled his eyes, neither the Decimo nor his right hand would be as susceptible as some socially awkward scientist that she usually practiced her skills on. If anything Regulus just looked annoyed and Decimo just seemed amused.

* * *

"Why is this woman flirting with Haru's boyfriends?" Haru asked lowly, a hint of a threat in her voice

"Boyfriends!? Since when do you have more than the one?" Gokudera stared at her incredulous, making the girl blush at her own choice of words

"Maa, maa Haya-chan's getting jealous" Yamamato teased, only furthering both blushes

"Who the hell is Haya-chan!?" the teenager snapped, even as the rest of the group burst into giggles

"Does that slut have no shame?" Ayaka snarked under her breath, getting an eyebrow from her roommate, but neither continued that line, when they noticed the resident class pervert suddenly twitch and smell the air as if she could sense the gossip.

"Paru?" Nodoka asked her friends curiously

"Someone's hiding something from me" the glasses girl said narrowing her eyes scanning the group; on the other side, Ayaka and Chizuru did their best to look nonchalant

* * *

"I'm sorry Ms. Iris" Decimo said politely, but this time the presence of manners didn't make him seem younger, not after the meeting with the devil, but rather cultured. Lukas saw Iris let out a swoon, that may or may not have been genuine,

"But I don't think Regulus' girlfriend would appreciate either of us spending the weekend with you at the ski lodge near the airport. As is happens I have to be in another country entirely before the day is up, sooo…" he finished with a helpless shrug.

"Ah", Iris let out a surprised noise, but months of working with her as their families blended let him see just how irritated she really was, and Lukas stifled a smile.

' _Bitch'_

* * *

Several of the girls smirked at watching the young woman get shut down

* * *

"Sorry" Decimo said cheerfully, which showed just how little he actually cared

"Oh no, I'm sorry, I completely forgot about…well you know" Iris responded with false empathy, and Lukas felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

' _No no no, they were so close to the car; please please please don't let Iris say anything vindictive that will get us stranded out here.'_

"I know… what?" Decimo asked curiously, but the smile on his face seemed a little strained

"Well y'know… the rumors about you two…or three, really… not that I'm against it! No no, it takes all kinds after all" Iris continued 'kindly'.

Both the Decimo and his right hand slowed to a stop, as did Lukas and Iris, looks of irritation and mild horror coming on their faces.

"We're not gay/we're not fuckin gay" they spoke in tandem

"Of course not," Iris said condescendingly, "Bisexual I believe is the term when there's a girl in the middle. Though I don't personally distinguish"

" **We're not gay/we're not fuckin gay** " they spoke again more stressed.

"Of course, of course" Iris shook her head in mock sympathy, "I'm sure all straight male friends fall asleep holding each other, kiss, say 'I love you', and spend every waking moment together"

"We were injured and exhausted when we fell asleep, I was drowning and he performed CPR, and he's my right hand where else would he be if not by my side?" Decimo retorted, though Lukas noted he didn't say anything about the declarations of love.

"Sure honey, sure", Iris said as she slid in the back of the car, ignoring both men's glower. Lukas slid in even quicker if only to put as much distance between himself and the two men who'd glared down **VINDICE** ; seriously was she so vindictive she forgot that?

* * *

"Apparently so" Lal Mirch spoke, looking disgusted at the woman's behavior

"Some people don't take rejection well" Bianchi said scornfully, missing the way her brother and Tsuna's faces twisted at her words

Exchanging glances, both Tsuna and Gokudera silently agreed to keep their silence

* * *

"All I'm saying", Iris continued when they got in the back of the car "is-"

This was as far as she got before Regulus suddenly leaped forward to her turned head and gave a harsh chop to the back of her neck, knocking her out cold. A second later the sound of doors being locked was heard as the vehicle started moving, and both Decimo and Regulus turned to him.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, they're going to kill me to keep their gay love hidden!" Lukas screamed in his head.

"Your speaking out loud again dumbass" Regulus rolled his eyes, even as Decimo face palmed, "Just let Mukuro in control idiot."

* * *

"Pahahahaha" Hana finally broke down laughing pointing at the irritated faces of the two boys in question

"What's wrong with that kind of love?" Setsuna said in a low undertone, though not low enough that Konoka, Asuna, Negi, and Tsuna, who were all close to her didn't hear it making them turn to her with raised eyebrows.

"W-what!?" she squeaked embarrassed when the mentioned four turned to her eyebrows up

"Nothing" Negi assured her, "Nothing is wrong with that Setsuna, we were just… ah"

"What?"

"Ah, nothing" the boy trailed off, he and Tsuna deliberately turning away and not making eye contact with the girl while Konoka and Asuna laughed at the bird girl's embarrassment.

* * *

'Mukuro, who the hell was-'

" **Kufufufu, you certainly put the fear of God into this one Gokudera-kun"** a voice that was most assuredly _not_ Lukas's escaped from his mouth without permission.

* * *

"Ah, what the hell!" Asuna and several others jumped on the couch, as the unnatural twist on Lukas's face appeared with a deep voice coming from his mouth.

Takahata and Mammon both leaned forward in keen interest

"Possession!" Yuna, Ako, and Akira screeched

"Crucifix, crucifix, crucifix!" Misora shouted making a cross with her pointer fingers

"Quiet!" Chisame shouted over the pandemonium, when she had the room's attention she pointed at the vision, "One, for the thousandth time, this. Is. Not. Real. This is in some parallel dimension, lightyears away from here!"

"But-"

"Not here!" she cut off any protest, "Two, the 'ghost' is someone _they_ " another jab to he Vongola side "know! And three! You're acting like there isn't some ghost whatever in our own classroom!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Ooooh" came the collective response

"Idiots" Chisame sat down with a huff

"…Wait, there's a ghost in you guys class-?"

* * *

"Are you okay, they didn't have any traps that hurt you or anything like that did they" Decimo asked concernedly.

" **Save your mother bear worrying for the children Tsunayoshi, I am the best, I don't set off traps",** Lukas noted from the reflection of the glass that one of his eyes had turned red with a strange symbol in them.

"Second best" Regulus snorted, "Did you get the info. or not, I'd hate for this trip to be a complete waste of Tsuna-sama's time."

" **Kufufufu, how impatient"** the voice thing laughed, by now Lukas was internally freaking out even if his body wasn't showing is, HE WAS BEING POSSESSED, HE DIDN'T EVEN THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE. And if it was, by who, how, why. No scratch that he already knew who and how, Mukuro Rokudo, the only man known to have _ever_ escaped Vendicare prison, which meant the 'how' was through his specially mutated mist flames. But Why, and why were Decimo and Regulus so calmly chatting him up?

* * *

"So it is you?" Takahata stated, looking at the boy with the hetechromatic eyes

"Huh, that's you!?"

"How?"

"Ah ah ah" the teen said in mocking admonishment, "No spoilers remember"

* * *

" **As it is I was able to find their records room when he pulled out the Gordian Accords",** suddenly puzzle pieces began to slide into place in Lukas' head _,_

 _Decimo looking at him, signaling him with orange eyes,_

 _The sudden pressure leaving his head, his sudden lack of control on his thoughts,_

 _The pressure returning when Bermuda put the documents back and Decimo's concerned look, before Lukas's face contorted to let him know he ( **Mukuro** ) was safe._

"Good, hopefully we won't have to waste anymore favors finding records to old long forgotten deals." Decimo said, relieved.

"Then there's the wealth of untold information on the documents themselves" Regulus nodded, "the Gordian Accords alone tell the existence of magic, the hidden Shimon, and Murim. Who knows what else is out there; The Vindice are one of the oldest organizations in existence, after all."

* * *

"Holy crap they pulled off a heist on the Vindice!" Skull exclaimed, his shock for once not overdone

Colonel let out an appreciative whistle

"That takes some balls, kora"

Mukuro looked _insufferably_ smug

* * *

" **I'll be sure to send Vongola HQ a copy of the info. as part of their cut for this operation."**

"Which we both know will be heavily edited" , Decimo said levelly, "I can't afford to have to track you down all the way around the world to look up some information Mukuro, please send an unedited copy to Kyoya instead"

" **That agoraphobic skylark?",** the voice to Lukas sounded almost disgusted, **"Why in the six levels of hell would I do that"**

* * *

Hibari snarled, leaving no mystery to the new people exactly who was being talked about

* * *

"Because you can trust that he won't abuse the information or be strong armed out of it." Decimo replied evenly, "And because I won't heckle you for info. since Kyo is always in Japan to find easily."

" **Tch, what makes you'll think your precious little bloodthirsty Cloud Guardian will accept anything from me."** The voice, Mukuro, said annoyed

"Just give it to Kusakabe-kun and he'll get it to Kyo."

" **The one with the ridiculous pompadour?"**

"That's the one", Decimo beamed

" **Yeah sure whatever"** Mukuro grumbled using Lukas's lips

"And can you put Mr. Burton to sleep when you leave, he's had a stressful morning"

" **Kufufufu, you are too soft Tsunayoshi",** but Lukas felt the tendrils of 'Other' remove itself from his head, and his face hit rich crinkly leather the last thing he heard before the conversation was wiped from his mind forever was Decimo's heartfelt thank you.

* * *

 _'Agreed'_ Mukuro privately thought, but otherwise kept to himself; it wasn't a trait he disliked about Tsunayoshi Sawada

 _"_ At least Mr. Burton got a good rest?" Negi tried to salvage

Kotaro snorted, but otherwise pat his friend on the back; the teen on the other side wasn't the only softie here

* * *

 _()()()()()())()()()())(())()())()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()())()()_

' _Now boarding flight 309 to Tokyo, Japan, Now boarding flight 309 to Tokyo, Japan.'_

"That's me", Tsuna said standing up from his seat in the small Scandinavian airport; for security reasons it was decided that Tsuna would fly commercially (first class of course), rather than take one of the family's more conspicuous private jets. There were people, government/rival Famiglias, that kept an eye on that sort of thing, and Vongola wanted all business dealing with this as hush hush as possible.

His birth or rather Japanese, since apparently his father had taken the liberty of making a second birth certificate for him in Italy the day he was born, name was kept strictly out of mafia affairs and so he was free to use it as he pleased without scrutiny from Interpol.

Beside him Hayato picked up his lone suit case (the rest would be sent over as needed at a later date) and walked with him to the gate. Upon arriving Tsuna paused and took one last look at his right hand _his other half so completely a part of him, thinking of him as a separate being at all felt wrong_ and gave him a curt gentlemen's nod.

"Regulus"

"Serafino" he nodded back, and there was a brief pause as they kept up their professional gentlemen shtick before Tsuna let out a genuine smile,

"Hayato"

"Tsuna", and without signal both of them pulled each other into a tight hug; not the hard slap on back man-hug, but a simple 'I-love-you-old-friend' hug. Screw the 'boys weren't supposed to show emotions and do that' crap; he was saying goodbye to his brother dammit.

* * *

The two young men exchanged glances and smiled; many of the girls in the room quietly aww'd

* * *

' _Now boarding flight 309 to Tokyo'_

Pulling back, Tsuna smiled and grabbed his luggage.

 _Vongola Decimo was coming to Mahora_

* * *

"Finally, it's time to start the main plot!" Makie cheered to the agreeing cheers and subtle smiles of her friends and classmates

"I wonder who he'll meet first?" Konoka wondered aloud

"Probably Negi" Kotaro said easily, "He's supposed to be one of the stars here right?"

"That could mean he'd meet Takahata-sensei or Shizuna-sensei, too right?" Nodoka asked, then blushed when she received attention, but soldiered on, "They were the only ones besides Reborn-san, who the Being talked to."

"That's pretty good theory, Nodoka" her best friend Yue, complimenting the girl more on her courage to speak her opinion then anything else, getting a pleased flush from the girl.

"Forget that" Haruna brushed off, "I wanna know who he gets together with"

"W-what?" Tsuna squeaked, shocked into entering the conversation, "Why, would I be doing that!?"

"Oh please" Asakura rolled her eyes, "A fine piece of man meat, moving in to _help with studies~_ "

Her words had their intended response; Tsuna and more than one girl was a flustered mess

"Asakura!"

"Don't lie, I saw some of you eyeing him, when he was shirtless"

Tsuna squeaked, before whipping his head to look at the girls; all but three would meet his gaze

Tsuna sunk to the floor, Asakura laughed

"Well I can't wait to see _what_ happens next!"

Tsuna whimpered

 **I say it every chapter, but damn these are long. But seriously, anyone know how to get back a deleted chapter, I swear I see it on Google Search, but I JUST. CAN'T. REACH. IT!**


	4. Reading the First Impressions

**Here we go, lets do this**

 **Reading Ch.3 First Impressions**

' _Now exiting Shibuya Station, Now exiting Shibuya Station'_

' _This'_ , thought a little red and burgundy haired kid, ' _is a lot bigger than home'_

"Look it's Negi-sensei!" Makie cried at the sight of her young crush

The girls aww'd at the awed look on the child teacher's face

Negi for his part shook his head in amusement and focused on his younger self. Looking back, he really has grown a lot since back then, had it really only been a few months?

Asuna was also making comparisons to the brat in the vision to the brat right next to her.

 _'He's lost his baby fat'_ she thought looking at round, puffy even, cheeks _'I didn't notice it since the change was so slow, but he's put on some muscle too'_

Even 40 minutes since he landed from his flight in the mammoth city, young Negi Springfield was still in awe at the sights the big city had to hold.

Sure, the crowding and the jostling and the strange looks he'd been getting from people were a bit overwhelming, but he supposed that may have been a bit his fault. He was still very new to Japanese customs, so he may not have followed the proper protocols with him stopping in the middle of the sidewalks to snap pictures like a tourist. The large wrapped staff on the back of his pack was no doubt an inconvenience as well.

He'd made sure to stop and apologize to everyone he thought he'd bothered with a proper bow; all the books said the Japanese were a people that valued manners and respect heavily, and Nekane (or rather Onee-chan), had told him to mind his manners and be respectful of his host country's culture.

"How sweet" Haru squealed, unable to take the adorableness of a child in a suit, "he's like a total mini tourist"

"He looks so overwhelmed" Setsuna noted, it had been a while since she'd seen the child teacher act anything less than the perfect gentleman teacher, and she was savoring the raw innocence of his features.

"I can't help it" Negi defended his younger other self, "I've always lived in smaller rural areas; even the academy, though it was very large, has nothing on the skyscrapers in the Tokyo proper"

"You're being a _little_ overly polite", Tsuna commented softly watching Negi apologize to seemingly everyone

"You're being a pushover brat", Evangeline input having no trouble openly criticizing her student, "I can see why your students run roughshod all over you"

"Don't say that McDowell, Negi-sensei's a perfect gentleman!" Ayaka defended

"A perfect gentleman wouldn't be so much of a pushover" Evangeline rebutted contemptuously

"He's a foreigner", Setsuna tried to cut in with a logical argument before the blondes of 3-A could get out of hand; Ayaka didn't know yet how _dangerous_ Evangeline could be, something the vampiress had taken the time to remind her during tournament, "if he wasn't overly polite, most would just typecast him as being a rude foreigner."

"Haya-chan" Yamamato _coughed_

"Who the fuck is Haya-chan!" Gokudera roared, getting giggles all around as he displayed _exactly_ the rude foreigner persona was just talking about

Still the city itself was an incredible sight to the small-town boy, even now during the early morning, neon lights flashed brightly, colorful and clearly visible. Dozens of advertisements shown proudly, for things Negi honestly had no real idea to their function, but certainly looked amazing with their characters and animations. Some were even accompanied with music, though barely heard from inside the fast bullet train.

An actual bullet train, wasn't that a delight in and of itself? Not even away from home for a full twenty-four hours and he honestly couldn't wait to write about all this to Nekane and Anya.

At the thought of being so far away from home and why entered his head, Negi felt a small pang of premature homesickness, but he stifled it… he wasn't the same cry baby he used to be.

"You're not a crybaby sensei!", Makie furiously defended, Negi-sensei was a man, and someone she respected largely

"That's very kind of you Makie", Negi responded sweetly, though his mind was on Anya- who no doubt inspired those thoughts in this other younger Negi in the first place. He could vaguely remember _his_ Anya teasing him that very morning before he got on the plane about not being such a wuss.

"I don't know he's a little bit of a crybaby" Kotaro spoke up, immediately shooting down her defense, "Didn't he cry during the tournament, when-"

"Shut up doggy boy, any man would cry during a moment like that", Ayaka spat furiously, not giving him a chance to specify exactly _which_ time he was referring to. The boy had gotten emotional several times those two days

"He also started crying when Setsuna tried to leave back in Kyoto" Evangeline spoke in complete agreement with the mutt

Setsuna flushed and shifted and the looks she received

"And he cried over that stupid rodent's bogus story about needing shelter" Asuna added, not having ever seen the boy through the same rose-tinted glasses as some of the others

"Asuna" Negi whined, "Chamo explained he needed those clothing's for his sick sister!"

The girl looked over his head briefly to meet the eyes of the other's incredulous stares, as if to say 'I rest my case'

"They were underwear Negi" she pointed out dryly, ignoring the grossed out/irritated looks of the others, "the rat's just a pervert… and you still cried."

Negi sulked

A pat on his head made him look up to see a sympathetically smiling Tsuna

"Don't worry Negi, I'm strong, but I'm quick to cry too, it doesn't make you weak" Tsuna smiled and Negi smiled back

Those watching the scene rose a brow at the tiny bit of idolism that Negi was starting to look at the brunette with; the reception of which was mixed, but most ultimately decided to hold their tongues

Negi looked down and clenched his fist; he'd come so far, worked so hard, pushed and pushed and pushed and now he had literally gone across the _world_ in his journey. 

He was so _close_ now, he could _feel_ it, practically **_taste_** it in the air; this time it was going to be different, all his searching would not be in vain. It was no longer just some far off someday- **NO** , it was right here, right now.

' _Dad, I will find you I promise'_ thought the young boy clenching his fist harder as his mind became flooded with old memories.

"…Oh" Makie mumbled as she and the rest of the audience slyly risked a glance at the ten-year-old on the couch

For once, the kid's face was completely devoid of it's signature smile; in fact it was completely devoid of any emotion

 _A dark snowy night and despair and burning homes on the horizon_

 _A warm hand on his head and a masculine voice whispering_

'' _I'm sorry…I have no right… be happy… Negi''_

' _When I finally find you, we'll be happy together dad, just wait for me'_

Those who hadn't already seen his memories stared at the brief flashes of images with a sort of mounting horror, while those who had and the more experienced fighters looked on with tight grimaces

Feeling the eyes of his students and the teens from Nami Middle on him, Negi forced himself to take in a deep breath that he released with an audible sigh

"Girls, this was quite some time ago" he said turning to them with a weary smile on his face, "I've grown and made bonds with others. I know not to let such thoughts control me all the time."

"Are you sure" Makie asked sounding worried; he understood why, after all Negi went through a significant amount of effort to keep all such thoughts to himself, and indeed _any_ personal affairs away from his students. They weren't used to seeing his blacker emotions, for _very_ good reason.

It wasn't professional

…It wasn't _safe_

"I'm sure Makie" he said giving the girl an earnest smile, she deserved his genuine gratitude for all she helped him when he was trying to become Evangeline's student

"You don't have to bottle things up like that Negi-sensei" Setsuna commented, most likely empathizing from when _she_ was the one all wrapped up in dark thoughts; sweet but truly, did they all forget that this wasn't actually him thinking these thoughts?

"Yeah, we'll help you" Konoka promised, as one of the Negima Club ( _name still pending_ ), she already knew the full story, behind those brief clips

"We'll help you find your missing father Negi-sensei!" Haruna also promised, which was strange considering she hadn't been there to- oh right, Chao had posted his dirty laundry to all and sundry on the internet during his fight with Setsuna during the tournament.

…He wasn't sure how he felt about that, it was deeply personal thing he'd barely been able to share with Asuna. More for the sake of peace than anything he'd been forced to let it go when the other club girls eavesdropped on that moment, because they were people who had agreed to fight with him and watch his back, they had _deserved_ that much of his trust.

Hundreds of random strangers at a fighting tournament however…

"Didn't I already tell you Baka-Negi not to shut us out!" that was of course Asuna, punching her way through any depression he could have the chance to feel; he appreciated it but like he said, he'd learned his lessons

If the Mafia crowd thought anything of the dark turn his thoughts had taken in the vision, then they didn't show it. Indeed, many weren't even looking at him, quietly watching his student's reactions more than his own, or just talking amongst themselves.

Tsuna-kun didn't say anything either way, but he felt the older boy shift ever so slightly in his seat so that his arm was leaning into his own, an action that was mirrored on his other side by Kotaro.

It was vague noncommittal actions like that, that made Negi wish he had more male friends. Their typical male refusal to acknowledge emotions openly, led to some rather more meaningful silent shows of support that the majority of his students hadn't _quite_ mastered yet

"Oh Negi-sensei" a tearful Ayaka was suddenly invading his personal space, grabbing his hands in her own and (to his minor discomfort) holding them to her bosom, "Please, if you ever need anything- _talk_ _talk_ _talk_ \- unwavering support from my vast - _talk_ _talk_ _talk_ \- undying love fill you up - _talk_ _talk_ – let go of your worries and rest in my bountiful- _talk_!"

Kind of like that

"Thank you for your support girls" Negi sweated, long used to tuning out the girls long winded declarations, and trying in vain to discreetly pull himself from prying hands, "But as I said this was quite some time ago, and I've long learned that I have people I can come to for help; so thank you for the support, but please this is _really_ unnecessary."

It took almost a full minute more of gently coaxing and appeasing his emotional class, before Chisame, Asuna, and Setsuna were able to pry the others back to their respective seats for them to continue.

Not before seemingly every last one of his students sent him at least one extremely meaningful look promising the same thing

Silently as possible Negi sunk back in his seat, pressing back when Kotaro nudged his shoulder with his own again

"Pretty amazing sight isn't it" said a voice to his right startling him out of his thoughts, "Your first time in the big city?"

At the sound of the voice Negi turned and was met by the most peculiar young man.

Clearly in his late teens and a student judging from the large backpack at his feet; a young man with the oddest gravity defying hair sat in the seat adjacent to his own with a book open in his hand. A gaudy looking chain ring on his hand, a pair of scratched headphones on his neck, and a loosely worn fancy black suit with an orange unbuttoned dress shirt, all together he created quite the union of opposites.

 _Tsuna_?

"Oh, it looks like your first meeting is happening" Konoka tilted her head curiously taking in the young man's appearance

"Still, that seems like quite the… coincidence" Setsuna mused, a suspicious lit to her voice

The others heard her unspoken implication, and turned to pay attention to the vision

Negi would have responded right away but he got caught on the color of the young man's eyes; a unique shade of orange that were currently burning into Negi's soul. For one weird moment he felt like the older boy had just seen what he was thinking, and Negi actually had to think to himself and wonder if he may have accidently said something out loud.

After a brief pause where Negi hadn't answered, the boy frowned slightly before asking in perfect English, **"Sorry, do you not speak Japanese, I was just asking how you were enjoying the sight"**

"Woah what the heck was that!?" Asuna yelped

"Hmm?" Negi asked confused, before realizing what happened, "Oh, he said 'Sorry, do you not speak-"

"Japanese, yeah I heard him" Asuna cut him off, "That's not what I meant"

"Oh, my apologies, I didn't mean to insult you. Your English really has come quite a long way Asuna!" Negi apologized, honestly proud of his student, the girl was without a doubt his worst student… but to see her make such improvement…

"What, no its not!?" Asuna shouted embarrassed

"Nonsense Asuna" Negi disagreed, not willing to let her put herself down, "Not all of those words were in proper structure-"

"I think what she means Sensei" Setsuna cut in before the misunderstanding could be allowed to grow, "Is how were we able to understand it, when none- most- of us don't speak English?"

Negi blinked and looked around seeing similar looks of bewilderment on the faces of the others, even Tsuna-kun's. To Negi, who spoke English as his native tongue and was _more_ than fluent in Japanese, he'd simply subconsciously switched languages when the vision's 'characters' switched, not even realizing that there had _been_ a change until Asuna pointed it out.

"Perhaps there is a translator in the vision?" Negi questioned aloud

"That doesn't make sense" Gokudera commented rapidly flipping through notes, "there's a difference between translating something from one language to another, and hearing a different language, recognizing it as different, and still understanding it instinctually. I don't understand how…"

 _Hmm, that was a real head scratcher_

Kotaro, who himself was more or less fluent in a couple of languages and hadn't been thrown at the change of language, was the one to present the obvious solution

"Why don't we just ask?" he asked with a shrug, getting the others attention, before he turned and raised his voice to the Being in the distance, "Hey do you know why we can understand the change in speaking!?"

Tsuna-kun frowned

"Do you really think, we can just as-" he started to ask when the Being actually turned its head and answered

 **"I've already told you"** it answered, it's echoey mental voice still sending shivers down the groups spine; though not as much after the meeting with the Vindice, **"None of this is real, those are not your real bodies; not your real ears hearing real sound, your real eyes seeing a real vision. This is a mental representation that your small three-dimensional minds can comprehend. Right now, information is being transferred into your _actual_ minds, all of this is just a representation that your conscious can understand for the sudden influx of information suddenly in your head."**

"… Yeah, I didn't get any of that" Kotaro stated, unashamed of his inability to follow the Being's explanation, "I got none of this is real, so don't question the small stuff?"

"More or less" Yamamato shrugged

"No, you idiots" Gokudera grumbled, "If your going to oversimplify it, then think of it as us all being in a shared coma, and someone outside is implanting raw information into our brains like a computer. So languages don't matter, the information is still reaching us."

"Ooooh" came a chorus from the other viewers

"You're very good at explaining stuff Gokudera-kun" Negi praised, "Have you ever thought of being a teacher?"

"He is rated number one potential to be a kindergarten teacher in the Mafia" Yamamato piped up cheerfully, as he watched the bomber flush at the praise. He knew the other boy had put a lot of work into making his weird explanations easier to follow for Tsuna's sake.

"Fuck off, baseball idiot" Gokudera snapped, turning a brighter shade of red

"Ah no, my apologies "Negi rushed to reassure the kind stranger, "I was just lost in thought, and yes this is my first time here."

The stranger gave a warm smile that reminded him much of Nekane's; the kind of smile that said that she was just happy he was present and alive and that his enthusiasm was all she needed. It made Negi instantly like him, well that and the fact that he was being such a studious student during the first day of the Japanese semester.

"Then welcome, and it's my apologies, I didn't mean to assume about your heritage with the English" the young man replied, proving Negi's books correct on how polite Japanese etiquette could be.

' _He's even apologizing for speaking to me in another language because he felt making an assumption about my person could be taken offensively.'_ Negi thought to himself with a smile before deciding to show off just a tad.

" **Oh no, you were perfectly correct** " smiling at the teen's raised eyebrow, **"your accent is very good, American?"** He asked curious.

" **New York specifically"** the teen said putting his book down all the way and focusing fully on Negi, **"My family does business there, and you where's your accent from, Britain?"**

" **Wales specifically"** Negi said copying the teen's way of answering, **"Very close to England though, the birthplace of the tongue as it were"**

"Is he showing off?" Setsuna muttered under her breath with a raised brow

"He's showing off" Asuna confirmed dryly, her own brow raised

"That's so cute, Negi-kun is showing off to his new friend" Konoka squeed, making the boy next to them very much embarrassed at their teasing refuse to look at them

" **Fascinating, so whatcha doing way out here for kid?"** , The teen said leaning back, Negi took note of the casual slang meaning that unlike Negi he'd most likely learned _his_ foreign language from outside a book, and taking an up and down look at his clothes **, "You look like your headed to a job interview followed by a business luncheon."**

Automatically Negi looked down at the green suit Nekane helped him pick out; he'd honestly forgotten he was wearing it. The suit made him look professional, Nekane had said, it was important to make a good first impression with future employers.

…That and the coolest guy Negi knew, Takamichi, also wore a suit so there were no arguments from Negi.

"I'm flattered, Negi" Takahata demurred as his fellow teachers ribbed him

The boy only sunk deeper into the couch, refusing to look at his old friend

" **Ah, that's because I am"** Negi answered

" **Your headed to a business luncheon"** the teen raised an eyebrow and Negi laughed

" **No, no, I have an interview coming up."** Negi explained before pausing and wondering if he should tell the older boy what kind of interview, before deciding that he was enjoying having someone to talk to and that it would be an awfully long trip to sit in silence like the plane had been, **"I'm going to be an English teacher."**

"Ha!" the teenager barked, "Well we should probably have you switch back to Japanese; you'll need to get used to hearing it." The young man said doing just that before putting his hand to his chin, "Or we can switch back and forth **, and have us both get used to each other's languages.** " He finished with a questioning look to Negi to see if it was okay.

Happily, Negi nodded, pleased his explanation hadn't been doubted, he'd already had to rescue himself from airplane security, who were wary about letting someone so young go off on their own.

Besides even if both of their accents were flawless, Negi HAD only learned Japanese a mere three weeks ago, there were doubtlessly plenty of holes in his vocabulary.

"Three weeks" Tsuna exclaimed at the boy, getting a few awed looks from his own students not in the know.

Because there was genius, and then there was **_genius_** ; and it was clear which half Negi belonged to

"Yep, life is really unfair" Asuna wept

 _'I'm going to be surrounded by genii for the rest of my life aren't I'_ Tsuna thought shaking his head in a bewildered but fond exasperation

"I did it one" Reborn shrugged easily, though there was an obvious smugness in his tone

Though instead of letting it go like he had with Negi, Tsuna immediately reacted

"Nobody asked you, you monster!" Tsuna snapped

"Stop stepping on regular people, you stupid genius!" Asuna backed, having had her nerves grated on by this particular baby since they arrived

"That's an oxymoron, morons" Ayaka rebutted, "and anyway you look at it, aren't you two just whining about being stupid?"

Her words had an immediate impact as Dame-Tsuna and Baka-Asuna cringed deflated, their righteous fury crushed by her harsh truths

"Morons, just morons. Stupid Dame-Tsuna can't even master a language in a few weeks" Tsuna mumbled from his depression slump, while Gokudera tried to cheer him up, unintentionally making it worse whenever he commented that 'Tenth's No-Good grades, were actually pretty cool… _somehow_?'

"Are you saying morons have no place in the world. Don't look down on stupid people, dammit" Asuna wept, as Negi also tried and failed to comfort her by bringing up that 'it was technically closer to three and a half weeks, and that knowing a language wasn't the same as being fluent, and he learned so much from them all…'

Yamamato just laughed, to his friend's irritation

"Yeah, I guess we're all idiots huh?"

 **"Shut up Baseball Idiot/Don't compare us to you, dumbasses/We don't want to hear that from you!"**

Two hours later the train was pulling into Mahora city and Negi had made his first friend in the new country.

The older teenager, Negi had found, was a great conversationalist and seemed to have a little bit of experience in just about everything. Negi had badgered him about the Japanese culture and he in turn asked Negi about Wales, and the two of them compared the differences between living in small and big cities. This then turned to a conversation about the kind of people there were in the world, which all led up to the teen telling him about the long colorful list of friends he had made in his travels and the funny situations he'd gotten into with those friends.

As the train was pulling in the older teen picked up his long-forgotten book drawing Negi's attention to the fact that the title was in English, though the only words Negi could see were 'Wizard Of'.

Before Negi could make a comment the double doors of the train opened and Negi along with his new friend were unceremoniously forced out onto the sidewalk under the force of the morning rush

"Pushover" Evangeline muttered, getting some scowls and reluctantly agreeing nods

"Woah there little buddy" said Negi's taller friend as he wrapped an arm around him and lifted him, huge bag and all, out of the stampede of coffee deprived citizens.

"Ah thank you so much" Negi gushed with a proper Japanese bow, only to have a warm hand on his head stop him midway, and give his hair a friendly ruffle

"Don't worry about it **Professor** " said the teen using the English version of the word with a smile, Negi had a feeling it had become his new nickname, "But you're not in Kansas anymore, the people here won't hesitate to step all over you if you don't learn to stand your ground."

The older teens orange gaze bore into Negi's own as he said the words, and Negi couldn't help but feel he was trying to impart something important to him, but he was afraid it may have been lost on him.

"Hmm" Evangeline hummed allowed

"What is it Master?" Chachamaru asked in her usual monotone, having noticed her master's odd interest

"Hmm? Oh… nothing Chachamaru, at least nothing yet" the vampiress waved away, "I'm just wondering what kind of influence being around someone like _him_ will have on the brat? Maybe he'll actually start standing up for himself"

Because she hadn't exactly been speaking quietly, the trio of the girls sitting close to them heard the little vampire's musings, and started to glance back at where their English teacher was currently with the soon to be Mafia Boss, or was it Anti-Hero?

 _'Negi-sensei won't change will he'_ Nodoka thought worriedly for her crush, as she glanced at some of the more violent characters on the Vongola side, _'it's just one new person, Negi-sensei's too good to change, right?'_

 _'Tsuna Sawada is different from anyone Negi-sensei knows, and young boys are impressionable to their older peers'_ Yue thought narrowing her eyes in concentration, her own musing had taken a similar turn as her friend right next to her, ' _Sawada doesn't seem like an inherently bad person, no worse than McDowell-san or Tatsumiya anyway; still, it might be good to keep an eye on how close the two interact after we leave, not everyone around Sawada is so decent…'_

 _'(Tsu-tsuna-sempai, I don't know if I'm ready), (Don't worry little Professor, Nii-san we'll take care of you), (Tsuna-sama~), (Call me, Boss)'_ Haruna giggled, her hands itching for a pen and paper as ideas for her latest dark mafia themed Yaoi dojunji; her mind having naturally veered off a completely different path than that of her two friends

Negi was a little preoccupied with the feeling of someone who wasn't his big sister ruffling his head like that. It should have felt strange, especially when you considered how strict the Japanese were supposed to be about personal space, but his new friend just gave off a comforting feeling that made Negi feel warm.

Only half aware of what he was doing, Tsuna unconsciously imitated the action of his Vision Counterpart, placing his hand on Negi's head, the same way he might do to Fuuta if he passed the boy quietly reading his Rankings dead to the world

Negi himself startled, before staring up at Tsuna who was only just becoming aware of how weird his actions might have come off on a virtual stranger.

Rather than let the older teen retract his action, Negi merely sent the older boy a beaming (slightly flustered) smile, which Tsuna responded with in kind.

… Both ignored the shiver inducing 'Fufufufu's' from Haruna

"Well, this is where we part ways for now, Professor" said the teen suddenly, glancing at something over his head, "it looks like you'll have to hurry if you want to catch the tram?"

Negi blinked and turned around, sure enough there was a gaggle of young women presumably the age of the girls he would be teaching heading for a smaller looking single cart train that would no doubt take them to the Girl's campus.

"Oh, you're right, well I guess I'll see you later…" Negi paused as something very important suddenly occurred to him, "um, I'm terribly sorry, but I forgot your name."

"You didn't forget, I was just waiting for you to ask." The teen replied looking unconcerned with the fact that he had been talking for two hours with a person who was a stranger in even the most basic of ways.

"Of course, he would forget to ask the most obvious questions" Asuna sighed exasperated

"Don't blame Negi-sensei for his forgetfulness, just because he has a lot more information to sort through in his head than you do" Ayaka sniped in her teacher's defense

Asuna made a sneering face, that Ayaka returned, neither willing to get in a full-blown argument and stop the vision longer than necessary; especially over something they both knew was true about the little professor's personality.

Textbook version of an overworked absentminded genius, Negi did tend to overlook or forget what most would consider obvious things to inquire about, in an effort to not veer away from his busy schedule.

"Oh, my apologies" He said feeling terribly embarrassed, what would Nekane say about this lack of manners, actually what would she say to the fact that he had essentially been talking with strangers "my name is Negi Springfield and you are?"

The teen stared at him for just a moment before a genuine smile spread across his face, "Tsuna, Tsuna Sawada" he said grasping Negi's hand and bowing as they shook, Negi for the life of him couldn't remember if there was a significance to this specific greeting or if his new friend was trying to reach out to his more western upbringing, "It's nice to meet you Negi Springfield, I wish you the courage and resolve to complete that interview successfully."

"Dying Will?" Tsuna murmured to himself, (taking a moment to laminate on just how _odd_ it was to have to interpret what his own words meant), then spoke again louder, "I just told him to do it with his dying will, didn't I?"

"Yep, Not-Dame-Tsuna has learned the importance of giving a task your complete effort and attention, Dame-Tsuna" Reborn nodded in confirmation

"Not-Dame-Tsuna?" Tsuna deadpanned, _'even complimenting me, he finds a way to add in my insulting nickname.'_

"Thank you very much, and nice to meet you too Sawada-san" Negi replied honestly a little touched by the impromptu advice.

"Just Tsuna Professor, I'm not your student or your boss and we're friends. Now you should really hurry before they decide to give someone else the job."

"Ah yes!" Negi said turning and hurrying to the trolley before a thought once again stopped him in his tracks, "Wait how will we-"

"Sun Hill apartments on the University grounds, we'll celebrate the end of the first week of school together!" Tsuna shouted, apparently already guessing what he was going to say, "Now GO!"

With that Negi turned and took off just barely scraping into the yellow vehicle before it could take off; though honestly if Tsuna hadn't pointed it out to him in the first place he probably would have missed it anyway and would have really ended up having to run to his meeting.

Optimistic with his day beginning with such a great start he wouldn't even question how Tsuna knew where he was supposed to be going, until months later when he replayed their conversation in his head with a _very_ different mindset indeed.

"Ominous" Yuna muttered

"Looks like that could become a very serious trust issue for them" Setsuna quietly noted as she glanced at her Konoka-ojou-sama, the girl in question's brown eyes searching for hers at the same time.

The girl had never _directly_ confronted her on keeping her family's magic or her less than human nature a secret; correctly assuming that Setsuna would clam up in guilt and insecurity if attention was brought to the subject.

That being said, it did nothing to stop her ojou-sama from teasing her mercilessly after that point for revenge

"How do you mean?" Nagase asked, not sure what the big deal the others were making about that final line of thought

"We already knew that _Decimo_ " Setsuna stressed the mafia title to make sure the full weight to her implication was felt, "was there to meet Negi, there's no way that was a coincidence, right?"

There was a pause as those around started to nod in affirmation

"Sooo" she continued in a leading tone of voice, but when no one jumped in she sighed and continued, "So, if he already knew _who_ Negi-sensei was, and _where_ he would be, and still introduced himself as a complete stranger; well, a paranoid mind, might question just how much of the interaction was genuine, and just how much was staged."

As the weight of her words fell on the group, several people started giving Tsuna heavy evaluating looks, making the boy shrink in on himself and his Guardians bristle at the implication that their boss and friend was manipulating a ten-year-old boy.

Gokudera started to move forward, but a firm hand on his shoulder from Yamamato stopped him; a firm stare was exchanged between the two which basically said.

 _Don't say a thing, let the Vision proof them wrong_

He was starting to get real tired of the constant shade being thrown at their side of the void, dubious connections or not.

If that attitude didn't change, there was going to be a fight; once in a lifetime chance be damned, they could spend the remaining weeks messing around with constructs in the Void. They had the most pertinent information already anyway, there was magic in the world, and there was opportunity to take advantage of it without Vindice interference.

Grunting irritatedly, Gokudera sat back, arms crossed and waited

 _()()())())()()()()()())()()()()()()()()()()()()()))()()()()()())()()(()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()())()()()()()()()_

Tsuna watched the young Mage scamper off with a smile on his face, and patiently waited to see if the intelligent if still rather childish young man remembered that they had given no way to communicate with each other. When he inevitably did, Tsuna shouted the name of his new home for the year as well as insured a later time for them to meet up.

It was an easy thing to find out when the little **Magister Mage** in training would be arriving in Mahora and time his own arrival to match. It had been easier to spot a child in a suit with a backpack larger than himself and a very obvious **Mage Staff** at his side.

From there it had been Tsuna's personal mission to befriend the young Mage and secure a foothold in his life BEFORE he met the other Mage's, thus make a lasting impression on him as his first friend in a strange land so far from home.

There was some nervous shifting as Setsuna's words echoed in their minds; their validation seemed to all but be confirmed on the screen. There was some quick meeting of eyes, as a silent message was passed around to hold back flying accusations until more details came out or at least while the vision was still playing.

As underhanded as it all sounded it was not nearly as deviously planned out as it seemed, especially considering there was no end game other than gaining the friendship of a talented young man. Other than already knowing the boy's name and general description, there conversation had been genuine and unscripted with Tsuna having nothing to work with than his own first-hand impressions.

Sighs of relief, silent and audible, flowed around the room; along with a few indignant grumblings from the Vongola about trust, and vice versa about anymore conclusion jumping

The reasons he'd had to go through all of this were two-fold; one, Negi was one of the people who (good or bad) would have a major impact on the magical contingent of the world and Tsuna wanted to build a good relationship before he could be corrupted by prejudice.

"Is that true?" Asuna asked, not quite able to connect the clueless little boy she shared a room with, with the image being presented here.

"That does seem a bit much" Negi conceded, humble as ever

"He's the son of the generation's greatest hero" Takamichi input, ignoring Negi's attempt at modesty entirely "And is a child prodigy, _rapidly_ growing into a strength that few will ever touch. Whatever he decides to do, there will be factions that will rise up to help him succeed."

 _'And no few that will rise to stop the heir of the Queen of Calamity'_ he silently added to himself, wondering for the first time just how deep into their various pasts this vision would go

"He's also _my_ student" Evangeline arrogantly put in her own two cents, "I refuse to allow anyone trained by me, to shuffle off into mediocracy with _my_ name attached to their deeds."

The last part came out as more of a threat than an endorsement of skill, making Negi and the members of Negima Club (name still pending) shake their heads quickly in fear.

Tsuna felt a block of ice run down his back and silently met the gazes of his Guardians who'd all gone equally stiff; no doubt they'd all felt Reborn, Lal, and Colonel's cold gazes on their backs, _daring_ them to try and lose to the Mahora group in that same aspect.

They wouldn't, not if they valued their well beings

As it was Tsuna could say he honestly liked the little professor, he was kind of like a less whiny more stiff version of his own little brother, and it caused Tsuna's protective Manly man (Momma Bear) instincts to rear as they saw an impressionable young lad (poor broken cub) so clearly on his own in the world in need of manly guidance (nurturing and…yeah strong male influence, huh).

Mukuro snorted

"Manly man?" Mukuro asked, voice _dripping_ with condescension, at Tsuna's self-perceived traits

"I can be manly" Tsuna huffed offended, his mother told him he was growing more manly everyday!

He received several derisive snorts for his efforts, and Gokudera and Yamamato wouldn't meet his gaze

"Guys?" he asked, sure his friends would back him up

"Tsuna/Tenth" they mumbled back, their voices hedged, and Tsuna felt his heart sink

"Don't worry Sawada" Hana 'comforted', "the world needs soft Uke looking guys too"

Tsuna (MANFULLY) pouted, while Yamamato gave him a consoling pat on the back

Tsuna's all too keen eyes hadn't missed the flash of darkness that passed through his eyes as he reminisced about something that was obviously painful in his past, just as he'd seen it drowned out by the quick optimistic resolve.

' _Strong willed, optimist, and just a little bit broken'_ Tsuna thought to himself with a chuckle _'a few years from now he'd be beating them off with a stick',_

Tsuna would know.

Kotaro groaned and let out a mumble of something like 'tell me about it', making more than a few of the girls shift uncomfortable or outright blush.

Negi for his part, kept his face perfectly oblivious and optimistic, determined not to acknowledge the shift those thought-words had caused in the viewing room

At this point both Gokudera and Tsuna had already picked up on some of the… _looks_ being shot at the child teacher and had simultaneously side eyed Gokudera's sister Bianchi, who alone looked way too comfortable with the insinuations.

Reason number two for his subterfuge was not so casually posted on the edge of the crowd with a sword on her hip, eyes quickly and efficiently scanning the station should he try and do exactly what he did and show up to the campus earlier than he said.

"Hey, it's Kuzunoha-sensei" Konoka perked up, as the irritated image of the swordswoman popped up.

"What's she doing there?" Yuna mumbled curiously, well acquainted with most of the school's teachers because of her own father's profession before turning and repeating the question to the real Kuzunoha

"She's probably there to greet Sawada when he came in" Kuzunoha answered, a touch awkward at referring to herself in third person

"Armed?" Chisame spoke skeptically, noting the sword at her side in the image, and remembering the woman's earlier antagonization towards the mafia group, not that Chisame blamed her.

"She's just being cautious!" Seruhiko immediately jumped in,

To Tsuna who had never encountered magic of any kind before, Negi was a wonderful opportunity to observe with careful focus and little threat of repercussions for a solid two hours to see if one could learn to _feel_ a person's magic. Had it been anybody else it wouldn't have been possible, it would have required weeks of a combination of abnormal animal like instinct with highly intelligent research gathered from the observed data.

Thankfully Tsuna had been born with a certain mutation unique to his blood line called Deus Ex Machina… or as his grandfather pronounced it **Hyper Intuition**.

Tsuna deliberately ignored the smack to the back of his head, even as the rest of the room snorted to that more than accurate description

' _It's a damn life HACKS and they know it',_ thinking of the one time he'd called it as such in front of his father and grandfather; both men had had a hissy fit and proceeded to spend an hour berating Tsuna about family legacies and noble traditions.

All to which Tsuna respectfully called B.S., V.H.I. was a cheat code worse than Peter Parker's Spidey sense and Kiyo Takamine's answer-talker ability combined and essentially allowed its users to excel in anything they put their mind to, at least in things like this.

A few hours observing Negi and the miniscule changes in the air around the boy compared to other people, especially around the staff, had given Tsuna a small inkling of when he was approaching something of magical capability.

The inkling would grow into something more like a magic sensor the more time he consciously spent around Magicals. As a result, Tsuna had felt it the moment they began approaching the massive invisible barrier that surrounded the school-city used to detect the entrance and exit of those with some measure of power.

There was a brief pause as the viewing room processed the information dump; each person focusing on a different portion of the information.

 _'So Hyper Intuition, is really just a power that collects information'_ Takamichi thought, as he listened to the boy's mind essentially create a magic sensor out of nothing ' _Incredibly quickly at that'_

 _'That power is still ridiculously hacked'_ Chisame thought disbelievingly, _'but at least its more scientific than just automatically "knowing stuff"'_

 _'If I had a power like that_ …' Seruhiko thought, already incorporating such a power in various tactics

 _'How do we fight something like that…'_ Kuzunoha thought, trying to find a way to fool such a sensor

 _'So magic can be sensed?'_ Gokudera thought, not in the least bit stumbled about his boss's ability to pick it up, _' then its not just some mystery power, it can quantified, calculated, and…'_

 _'So there's a barrier around the school'_ Mukuro thought, already making plans to keep an eye on the mentions of the interworking of such a system, _'Though not a physical one, not for Flames at least'_

 _'Huh, that's pretty cool'_ Kotaro thought, just wanting this all to hurry up and get to the action

Tsuna with bag in hand carefully made his way around to where the woman with the sword was still posted, and even made it a point to pass directly by her.

"Pardon me" he said politely and watched as she and everyone else made room for him without thought. 

Eyes widened at Tsuna's bold stunt

A little immature true, but it promised to be funny later when she realized that she had politely stepped aside for the same 'criminal scum' she was looking out for.

Reborn alone seemed brave enough to snort in the face of the shell shocked looking Kuzunoha, who stared at her other for being so blind as to miss the person she was looking for who was. Right. Freaking. THERE!

' _Man, I love real life cheat codes'_ Tsuna thought considering his Deus Ex Machina number 2.

 **Dying Will Flames** , or just more commonly Flames, were a power that made little logical little sense at the best of times and made studying them an exercise in futility, but they did have the benefit of making anyone without Flames incapable of making proper defenses against their rather unique power.

There was a significant shift in the room, as the Mahora group leaned forward, ready to FINALLY get a thorough explanation of the mystery fire

Created with the energy of life itself, sparked by emotion, fueled and controlled by sheer will power, and limited only by the experience and imagination of the one wielding them; **Dying Will Flames** did not follow the usual rules and properties of energy/matter the way magic or Ki did.

Three stages: 1rst most common stage, **Internal Flames** are activated, and a person loses the mental and physical limits that categorizes them as human.

Tsuna winced, the embarrassing memories of him running through town in his underwear was still painfully burned into his mind.

He found himself paying attention and nodding along to the explanation; having learned mainly from experience himself, never having gotten sat down for a proper explanation

2nd stage which is for the practiced fighters, **Manifested Flames,** which are as they sound- pure firepower to be used.

Tsuna nodded again; this was _technically_ the Flame Tsuna most commonly saw; in the sense that one couldn't always tell if someone was removing their bodies limiters with 1rst stage Flames or if they were just that awesome.

Tsuna himself mostly used 2nd stage Flames, rarely finding a combat need for **Harmony** , and even more rarely using his Flames for anything _but_ combat.

3rd stage which is for the elites which was more of an extension of the 2nd stage involving tapping into the mysterious power of the individual flame. Each flame had a general 'property' that as long as you had the imagination and the control to fit an idea matching that property, then it could be done.

For example, **Cloud Flames** had the property called **Propagation** ; Tsuna knew masters who used cloud flames to do anything from extend and multiplying their weapons to expanding their body's muscles and increasing the number of brain cells in their head, as long as it fit the property of propagation it can be done by a skilled enough **Cloud**.

Yue let out an impressed 'huh'

"So how many Flames are there?" she asked

"Seven" Reborn answered easily, not seeing a need to hide the information, and knowing Tsuna wouldn't say anything without him; his mind was personally more focused on Vindicare's Black Flames

 _(And the twitch the Shimon brats made at his answer)_

"Right" Haru piped in, lurching herself back into the conversation, now that it was on a topic she could contribute to, "Sky, Cloud, Storm, Rain, Lightning… Mist… aaaaaand… and… I'm forgetting one."

"Sun Haru", Kyoko reminded as her brother gave them an extreme fist pump

"We already went over them in the last Vision" Nodoka gently reminded them all

Tsuna who possessed **Sky Flames** had already reached close to his maximum potential in terms of purity and strength when he was just fourteen; he'd spent the last 4-5 years working on pure control.

"I did!" Tsuna exclaimed shocked

"You all have" Reborn answered him, but addressed the whole room, "Don't forget, the opponents you faced before have been not just adults, but the leaders in their fields. Varia, the Funeral Wreaths ( real and fake) even Mukuro's little gang is considered abnormal"

Mukuro did an amazing mix of a smirk and a scowl at Reborn's description of his "little gang"

"Though don't think that means your anywhere close to finish training" he finished smacking his student on the head, "Your all still green compared to me."

"Yeah, yeah I know" Tsuna grumbled rubbing his head, he hadn't even said anything!

 **Sky Flames** were the element whose property was **Harmony** , constantly pulling other elements to them in an effort to find balance, balance being the typical translation used when speaking about harmony. Typically, this made him almost impossible to ignore when walking into a room because everyone felt the unconscious pull of his flames on their senses.

"Wait really" Tsuna blinked, him, Dame-Tsuna pulled people's attention to him?

"Why do you think you were bullied so much?" Reborn asked in an almost rhetorical way, getting the sudden razor sharped focus of everyone on the Vongola side's room,

"You were bullied" Asuna asked with no small amount of surprised incredulity. The person they'd been watching hadn't seem at all like someone, you would consider bullying.

"I'm not as…" Tsuna trailed off, unable to come up with the right adjective, _'Cool, confident, handsome, everything?'_

Negi, no stranger himself to being ostracized, scanned his new friend over as if looking for signs of bullying.

"It's not so bad now" Tsuna rushed to assure, after seeing the looks the child teacher was giving him, "It really went down a while ago, I guess it just took care of itself" he said oblivious to the darkly satisfied smiles of his friends behind him

"What do my flames have to do with bullying?" Tsuna asked trying to change the subject

"Your Flames pull peoples attention to you; you're hardly the worst in your class, or even the clumsiest. But you're a **Sky** , which means when you walk into a room, people pay attention; it also means your flaws are that much more prevalent to people's minds. Its why as a boss you can't afford to make mistakes."

Tsuna blinked rapidly absorbing the new information

"Ten- Tsuna-sama" Gokudera asked concerned when his boss didn't respond

"Hmm, nothing Hayato, I just need to think about this" Tsuna assured, as he reflected on just how much the Mafia and Flames affected his life, even before he'd learned about either

What Tsuna was currently using was a different interpretation of **Harmony,** that instead of pulling others flames to him, Tsuna's flames were harmonizing to the very nature around him. To the senses of people around him, Tsuna's existence was registering as just another piece of nature to be ignored and walked around; of course anyone with a camera would pick him up and wonder how on earth they'd missed the fluffy haired suit wearing teen, but Tsuna was less on an infiltration mission and more trying to get one up on his host by giving himself a few hours to get familiar with the territory.

Tsuna made a mental note to start playing with the Aspect of his Flames more often, it seemed they had a lot more uses than just blowing up stuff…

WHACK

"Don't think you can use this to try and hide from training Dame-Tsuna" Reborn informed him

"I wasn't!" Tsuna lied

"Now then" Tsuna mused out loud to himself an hour and a half later at a café after he'd already dropped off his bag at his new apartment and freshened himself up after nearly **eighteen hours** straight of traveling. "Let's see what we got to work with here."

He started flipping open the **textbook** of information his grandfather had given him to study about the magical world, their politics, histories, as well as a couple of not common known secrets.

When he'd gotten the book two weeks ago he had skimmed the first two pages before shamelessly pawning the work off on his right hand Hayato while he drilled himself on the much smaller packet of things Konoemon _wanted_ him to know.

"Isn't that kind of lazy" Seruhiko commented skeptically

"I don't think he minds" Shizuna giggled, pointing to where said boy's eyes were huge and seemed to be vibrating with excitement

This was less cruel than it sounded when one took into account that one, his right hand was significantly more intelligent than him being a genius, and two, Hayato was known to be obsessed with anything occult or sci-fi.

Tsuna had had to bite his lip to keep from laughing when his delinquent looking hard ass **Storm** had had a geek out about the existence of a magical world like the closet dork he was. In the end Tsuna hadn't been able to resist squeezing his excited little **Storm Guard** ; the presence of the maid and the weeks of whispering and blushing had been worth it.

"SHUT UP!" an embarrassed Gokudera screamed at the giggling that sprang up at the image of a fangirling older Hayato

' _It's been too long, since I've seen my other half look at something with that childlike wonderment'_ Tsuna thought with a touch of melancholy, with the two of them buried by adult responsibilities they rarely had time to do anything just for fun anymore.

' _Presents, presents are now a top priority'_ he'd already planned on buying something, but it wasn't till just now sitting in a coffee shop in a new city with a book of magical secrets in his lap that he fully comprehended that he was in a whole new world.

The book in his hand had been helpfully color-coded by subject with hundreds of little post-it notes with additional cross reverenced info in the margins by his overachiever other half.

' _Magical texts for Hayato, particularly histories dealing with well-known conspiracies in the non-magical world'_ he thought lovingly gazing at the detailed notes written by an eager Hayato.

Gokudera had to bite his lip hard enough to draw blood, to keep himself from reaching through the 'screen' and squeezing the Future Tsuna-sama with joy. He settled for doing it to the younger present version and received a squeaked 'Your Welcome!'

' _Exotic candies for the kids and clothes for the girls to go along with more personal gifts later'_ he thought turning to a page that looked like a Calvin Klein ad, with a picture of a man in glasses wearing a suit that he'd seen in Konoe's briefing packet and was apparently a big deal in the Mage World.

' _Maybe tickets to some sporting event or tourney for Takeshi'_ thinking about the baseball player upon coming upon a page with information about an old war hero with white hair and a scar across the bridge of his nose who used to be a gladiator,

In the stands Takahata and several other teachers coughed at the sudden picture of "Jack Friggen Rakan", making a cameo

 _'Though knowing Takeshi he'd probably prefer to be a participant more, Kyoya too now that I think of it, hmm… will put a tack in that and see if I can find a more material gift for now'_

Tiring of looking through the massive information packet he turned to a third and final folder his Advisor Reborn had set up for him in the weeks following his move.

 ** _Operation: Bedford Moon_**

 ** _Participant(s):_** _Serafino Vongole (under name Tsunayoshi Sawada), Kevin Reese. Future agents will be added as needed._

 ** _Location:_** _Mahora City, Tokyo, Japan_

 ** _Mission Primary Objective:_** _Create long term business contracts between Cosa Nostra, The Vongola Famiglia, The Vongola Alliance, Seashell Corporation, CF Oil & Mining Corporation and The Kanto Magic Association, The Kansai Magic Association and AAA. Future deals will be added as needed._

 ** _Mission Notes:_** _I shouldn't have to tell you this, but these are BUISNESS deals Dame-Tsuna, it's your job to make these things as heavily in the Vongola's favor as possible. Don't be afraid to cut out a particular organization on the magical side if you see an opportunity to make connections, their friendlier with each other than the Famiglia of Cosa Nostra, but not every Mage Association agrees with each other- **use** **that**._

 ** _Secondary Objective:_** _Find information on and if possible create a backdoor to Mundus Magicus_

 ** _Mission Notes:_** _Vongola information is vastly lacking on the entirety of the magical planet, it is of utmost pertinence we have information on the effect a separate planet has on the balance of the Trissinette; its power, its origins, the intent it has for Earth and its people._

 ** _Tertiary Objective:_** _Explore information on a possibly damaged time stream_

 ** _Mission Notes:_** _Nono's Intuition is screaming that something isn't right in the Vertical Axis. Yuni has a vision of fire. Trust your intuition and be cautious my Dame student._

 ** _Persons of Interest:_** _Konoemon Konoe, Eishun Konoe, Takamichi T. Takahata, Evangeline A.K. McDowell, Ayaka Yukihiro…_

Seruhiko, sensing an opportunity to release some left-over tension between the groups, decided to speak up.

"Well at least we know his intentions are honest" Seruhiko said to disbelief of some of the girls

"He just got told to try and pit us against each other" Chisame pointed out dryly pointing at the screen, but the young teacher merely waved it away

"All business is trying to get one up on the other person" Seruhiko answered breezily ignoring Ayaka's bristling, "I mean, now we know for sure that this isn't some kind of trap or anything."

"Right, better a shady businessman that a sneaky spy" Chisame started dryly, only to blink and realize midsentence that that explanation actually made sense.

 _'What is my life becoming?'_ Chisame thought sadly, ignoring her teacher's enthusiastic 'Exactly!' and her classmates giggling

Tsuna ignored the cut throat information essentially telling him to spy on and bleed the magical world for all its worth (he may have been trying to change the blood-soaked history but as Nono had said, they weren't trying to create world peace after all, Vongola would always be sharks) and chose to focus on the tertiary mission goal.

Someone may be messing around with this world's time stream, to the point that his sadistic cold blooded chief advisor felt the need to warn him to be careful in an open expression of concern. The last time anything like that had happened…

 _Darkness, closed space, where was he, a coffin, why was he in a coffin_

" _The Tomaso Famiglia…Yamamato's dad…connected to us… dead"_

 _Mad violet eyes, an empty smile, flames, dirt under his skin, coughing blood, sacrifice, heartbreak, **Yuni**_

… nothing good had come from it; Tsuna was not eager to deal with another time travel experience.

Tsuna and the Tenth Generation inhaled slightly at the brief images in Future Tsuna's memories of that affair, but kept silent

The rest of the room stayed respectfully silent, just absorbing the information

Instead he leaned back and closed his eyes, stretching his awareness listening to the world around him as if his senses would pick up on the source of this mystery from inside the little coffee shop. He wasn't surprised when he could only hear busy city life and adults and children alike going on about their business.

All jokes aside V.H.I wasn't magic (ha!) and could only pick up on things that Tsuna himself had at least some vague information on. It worked like the world's most advanced computer picking up on information Tsuna's conscious mind didn't ( _or couldn't_ ) perceive, and cross referencing it with previous saved data that Tsuna had encountered previously. On top of that Tsuna had to consciously recognize the sensation his V.H.I was trying to warn him about in order for him to make use of it.

For instance, Tsuna who had little familiarity with magic wouldn't recognize his V.H.I trying to tell him that an advanced teleportation and attention awareness spell had been cast; rather he would hear a vague ringing sound in his ear letting him know his V.H.I was picking up on _something_ but not what that something was.

He had, however, had multiple experiences of having a weapon pointed at him; so when the slight clenching feeling hit his stomach a split second after he heard the ringing noise in his ear and a second after _that_ felt a sword come up to his neck from behind, Tsuna merely picked up his cup of expresso and sipped it disinterestedly.

"Ah, is there something I can help you with Ms. Bushido?" he asked politely, apparently, he'd lost track of his **Harmony Flames** while he was stretching his senses and the woman sensed his unusual energy spreading across the campus. 

Ah there was the trade off, couldn't be incognito while using flames to search.

"You were to report immediately to the Dean's office upon your arrival to the academy." Said the cold tone of the swordswoman Tsuna had passed nearly two hours ago, no doubt unnerved at how he slipped by her and made it so deep into the school without her awareness.

"Yes that's correct" said Tsuna as he smoothly using his cup to push away the sword at his shoulder, the woman sheathed her blade but didn't take her hands off the handle, "but I've been on trains and planes all day, I was merely taking the time to get a drink and maybe go over some notes before the big meeting."

He finally turned and met the eyes of the young woman, who was scrutinizing him in return, her eyes no doubt taking in his rather fresh appearance and probably making her own condescending assumptions about the kind of person he was.

Tsuna for his part merely smiled apologetically, it was important that he made a good impression as a courteous professional young man, not weak, but definitely not a threat-it was a familiar role.

"You can have a drink after the meeting, I'll escort you, so you don't get _lost_ ", though the way she said lost meant it clear she didn't trust him not to go wondering off.

"Kinda cold there Sensei" one of the girls commented and Setsuna opened her mouth to defend her teacher from whoever did, only for someone else to beat her to it

"Remember girls, the people we see don't have access to the same information we do, and its important to keep that in mind as we watch them make their decisions." Seruhiko defended his crush vehemently, his usual joking nature fading to the more serious tactical side his students didn't normally see, "The only thing she has to go on about Tsuna-kun, is that he's the heir to a dangerous organization she doesn't like and successor to the man who had her humiliated and burned her bosses hand."

Kuzunoha kept her face blank, but she was inwardly relived at her colleague's defense; she was unlikely to defend her own actions at all, let alone so factually

"It's important we take even their _informed_ decisions with a grain of salt as well" Takahata tacked on, waiting till he had the teens slightly confused focus on him, "The Vision seems to switch to the points of view of various people, meaning what we see is colored by the perception of the person whose point of view we're witnessing, and all people are unreliable narrators."

"Unreliable narrators?" Yue spoke speculatively after a contemplating silence filled the room and her classmates tried to work out what their former English teacher said, "I've heard that term in Japanese class"

"It basically means, the people in the story (or in this case other world) don't have access to the same information as us the viewers, and make interpretations that can be wrong, which are then fed to us, the viewer." Takahata nodded to the girl, going into full on teacher mode, "For example the young man in the last vision who went to visit the… Vindice was it?... obviously, his perception of events would be much different than Sawada and Gokudera-kun's. Can anyone know how?"

Takahata ignored the amusement of his colleagues and grumblings of several students as his quick answer turned into a full-on lecture; though he was amused to note that even the Vongola seemed to be participating in the debate.

"He didn't realize he was being possessed" Hana answered, her tone clearly working it out as she spoke; Takahata nodded for her to continue, "He didn't know why he was acting so weirdly and talking so much, because he didn't know he was possessed. And since _he_ didn't know, _we_ didn't either and we just assumed that that was how he usually acted. His perception of events becomes unreliable."

"So, we need to make sure the people we're watching aren't being possessed" Misora said jokingly getting a few chuckles that we're abruptly cut off when Mukuro gave his own chilling ' _Kufufufu'_ to let them know that, _yes_ , they probably _did_ need to keep that in mind.

"True, anything else" Takahata nodded impressed, that hadn't been his original point, but it was a good catch nonetheless and he made his own mental note to keep an eye out for that later

 _'If only they paid this much attention in class'_ Takahata thought wryly watching them wrack their brains to give him an answer.

Though even as he thought it, he noted some of the usual suspects had seemed to all but give up on trying to figure out the lesson, waiting for their more academic peers to reach the conclusion for them

It was Tatsumiya who eventually proposed the solution

"He didn't know the full parameters of the mission", she spoke up in her cool clinical voice, before continuing when Takahata nodded to her, "In his mind he was there for a simple meeting and _that_ was his focus, while for Sawada _-_ "

"Tsuna" Tsuna mumbled

" _Sawada_ was planning a heist and was more focused on distracting the Vindice." Tatsumiya continued without breaking stride, "If the vision was shown from _his_ point of view, we could see the _exact_ _same_ conversation at the _exact_ _same_ time, and yet get a completely different information depending on whose head we watched it from."

"Exactly", Takahata nodded, "So keep in mind that most of the people we see will _not_ have access to the same information we do; and more importantly not all the information we _do_ receive may be accurate because of the biases and perceptions of the person we're watching from."

Sensing the debate wrapping up, Seruhiko gave an exaggerated stretch

"Are you done?" he asked wryly, "Can we get back to watching?"

"We're done" Takahata confirmed, smiling as he watched the teens take his words to heart and stared at the vision _intently_ , prepared to overanalyze every little thing they saw.

…At least till they got bored or saw something funny enough to distract them

' _Burr is it cold in here or is that just her?_ ' thought Tsuna sincerely hoping he wouldn't have to go through this with everyone he met for the next year or so. _'Wasn't Cosa Nostra supposed to be a secret to their side too, who did what to get her this cool on our first meeting?'_

It couldn't have been him, Tsuna knew himself too well; he wasn't an intimidating individual when he wasn't actively trying to be and certainly when he was projecting not threat like how he was right now.

"Let me just clean up my area, Ms.…?" Tsuna gave a smile that said he was slightly taken off guard by her chilly attitude, though truly he wasn't.

Thankfully his documents weren't written in any known language outside of Tsuna's Inner Circle, given G-script was invented by a nerdy Hayato back in middle school, otherwise Tsuna wouldn't have studied them so brazenly in the open.

"Kuzunoha" came the one word reply as she gave a curt nod of her head of the direction she wanted Tsuna to walk in, apparently not trusting her back to him. 

_Sheesh_.

With that Tsuna 'stumbled' along, before catching his stride like a prideful teenager trying to make himself seem like a confident adult. The woman followed alongside and slightly behind him or was until Tsuna kept slowing down to make clear he didn't know where he was going.

"So, do you teach here Kuzunoha-san" Tsuna asked politely, because communication had to start somewhere, and it clearly wasn't going to be from her.

"Yes" she replied just as curtly as she did everything, though Tsuna noticed her picking up her pace to reach their destination sooner and avoid having to talk to him more than she needed to.

"Cool, what year?" Tsuna continued undeterred, like he didn't notice her attempts to brush him off, though to be fair Tsuna often had to pretend that he couldn't read people like an open book.

Blatantly calling her out on it would do nothing to help with the coming business, nor would it earn him any points gaining her trust. The best thing Tsuna could do was ignore it and be as mostly genuine as possible and not be put off by her attitude.

"Elementary" she answered stiffly obviously not appreciating Tsuna's efforts.

Gritting her teeth like her counterpart, Kuzunoha ignored the exclamations of "Really!" and "Those poor kids"

' _Those poor kids'_ Tsuna thought perhaps a tad uncharitably, she may have a hidden soft side he wasn't privy to, though he doubted it was that soft. Even so it gave him an in to blabber about unhindered for the rest of the walk as well as maybe lower some of those walls she had around him.

"Oh, that's cool; I have a little brother and sister about to enter their final year of elementary"

"Oh" Kuzunoha said blandly obviously uninterested

"Yeah Lambo's like a super genius and Dad wanted him with some private tutor, but I wanted him to have some normalcy around other kids his age you know? And he didn't want to be separated from our sister, I-pin, she's a smarty pants too, but she doesn't want to be away from Mama yet; didn't stop them from skipping two grades though."

Tsuna blathered on the rest of the walk with stories of Lambo, I pin, and Fuuta until it was clear the woman had mentally moved him over into something resembling nonthreat and maybe even an idiot if a possibly strong one; essentially, he acted like his father, ugh.

Tsuna looked physically ill at his older self's… performance

"Is your dad, super friendly or something" Yuna, disturbingly close to her own father, asked curiously

"Yeah something like that" Tsuna answered a little clipped, which Enma, (who had his own grudge with Iemitsu) immediately picked up on

"Are things between you… strained" Enma asked carefully, if the Vongola Decimo didn't trust Vongola Outside Advisor…

"We… don't talk much" Tsuna tried to say diplomatically, he had no desire to air out the crappy one-sided relationship he had with Iemitsu; something he hadn't even told his Guardians, though giving some of the confused side looks he was getting from his friends, that wouldn't stay secret long.

"He works far away" Tsuna explained, _'Not to mention the asshole allowed me to think he was missing/presumed dead for years, because it 'sounded romantic''_

"So, you're not close" Enma said, more than asked

Tsuna paused and thought, before giving a firm nod

'Not Close' was good, it was polite enough for pleasant conversation and covered everything from 'we don't visit often' to 'I hate his guts', without having to give detail

Enma exchanged another glance with Adel; another thing to consider for their plans, it seemed keeping Tsuna as an ally, despite his heritage was becoming a firmer and firmer alternative to trying to topple the centuries old Criminal Empire.

"So, the Dean's office is in the section _with middle school girls_?" Tsuna questioned deliberately being obnoxiously skeptical, even putting emphasis on how sketchy it all sounded; still very much playing the role of his father who'd mastered the harmless big muscled idiot act to a T.

"He has a granddaughter in middle school and it keeps him close to her." The swordswoman answered a tad too defensively to Tsuna's ears.

"Oh yeah, where was his office before she was in middle school"

Silence

"Mhmm"

"Perverted Dean" Haruna giggled

"I'm sure it's nothing like that" Setsuna defended her Ojou's grandfather

 _'Yeah, I'm kind of sure it is'_ their teachers thought to themselves, though they kept such thoughts about their boss silent

Before Kuzunoha could respond the higher pitched voice of a young woman interrupted them,

"Kuzunoha-sensei!" both of them looked to see a young woman with long brown hair and a cheerful smile rollerblade her way over to them.

"Yay it's me!" Konoka cheered, whipping out several cheering fans with her name and face on it out of nowhere, before forcing them on her seatmates Negi, Setsuna, and Asuna, who smilingly waved them in the air.

Tsuna felt a tiny tickle on his nose that he'd recently come to associate with someone who possessed magic after being in Negi and Kuzunoha's presence; though it felt a little sharper then when he'd met the woman beside him, as did Negi's come to think of it. Whether it was something special about young people's magic or Negi and Konoka just had more than her considering their high-quality bloodlines, he wouldn't know until he'd spent more time around Mages.

"The latter" Evangeline answered in a bored tone

"You're a mage too, Konoka?

"Not yet, but Dad and Grandpa are, so I have magic too" the ever smiling girl answered

"Hello Ms. Konoe, I'm afraid I can't stop and talk I'm working right now" she said adjusting her glasses seriously, "Besides should you not be in class right now"

' _Oh, so this is the Dean's granddaughter'_ , Tsuna thought while also taking note that his escort hadn't stiffened up at the defenseless young lady being in his presence which meant his blabbering moron act had finally gotten her to consider him a nonthreat and forget about this morning's brief subterfuge.

' _Mostly'_ he added as he saw her hand had not left its relaxed grip on her sword.

"He's good" Takahata let out an impressed whistle, at his colleagues looks he continued, "You had a blade to his throat a few minutes ago, now your letting him near your Boss's granddaughter without much thought."

Kuzunoha blinked, but narrowed her eyes on both Tsuna's, making a promise not to let her guard down around the boy in the future.

Down below, Tsuna tried not sweat at the intense stare the teacher was drilling into his head

 _'What did I do!?'_

"Hey, Kuzunoha-sensei, and I'm not ditching I'm working right now too" the girl answered giddily, before giving Tsuna a curious look, "Grandpa asked me if I could give a tour to one of the university student transferring in from abroad who didn't get to come to orientation"

"I see" Kuzunoha said slowly, like she wanted to say something more bitter but was being careful to hold her tongue against her boss, "Well he hasn't had the time to meet up with the Dean yet Ms. Konoe so I'm afraid your early."

Tsuna for his part was wondering what the older man was doing, sure he meant to get close to the class anyway, but unless the girl in front of him was a world class actor sent to spy and get intel on him (which Tsuna severely doubted since the old man _knew_ enough about V.G.I, to know you can't lie to it) he didn't see what putting her so close to him was supposed to accomplish.

"Oh, I know" she said, and Tsuna was really starting to dig how cheerful she was, "I just came to introduce myself"

"And get out of class a few minutes early no doubt" Tsuna said slyly, speaking for the first time, well aware of all the tricks and ticks from Middle and High School, back when school was a sentence and not a choice.

The girl merely smiled cheekily before doing a small spin to face him fully and introduced herself, "Konoka Konoe, it's nice to meet you "

Tsuna acting more out of habit that was literally beaten into him than conscious thought, grabbed her hand and bowed giving a light kiss to her knuckles, looking up from his position without letting go of her hand, he gave an as dazzling smile as possible and returned her greeting.

"What the hell" Tsuna said with an embarrassed flush at his counterpart's actions

"Tsuna Sawada, a pleasure" seeing a chance to be let go from the scrutiny of the swordswoman, as well as give her the chance to finally escape from him, he turned to acknowledge Kuzunoha, "Will it be alright if Konoka escorts me the rest of the way, and you can get back to work Kuzunoha."

The woman stared at him with slightly wide eyes before giving him a slightly skeptical look that Tsuna honestly couldn't understand what he'd done to earn. He'd even broken his idiot character to give a young lady of high status a proper greeting instead of just waving like some foreign idiot. Though he did refer to her by first name only moments after meeting her, he was usually politer than that.

"Does he really not see the problem" Tsuna yelled at himself incredulously

"Culture shift" Reborn answered, after a moment of shifting through what he knew about his normally shy student's character and applying all the recent info received to that image, "He's been living in Italy for however many years and hasn't been in Japan for more than a few hours. He hasn't yet shifted back to the more reserved Japanese etiquette"

"Still" Tsuna shrieked blushing and ignoring the obvious giggling in the room

Kuzunoha continued to narrow her eyes at him before giving a searching look to Konoka and then seemed to measure the distance between them and the administrative building not forty feet away as if to see if he might make off with her school's princess in the time it took to walk there.

"You can take him straight there correct Ms. Konoe" the woman asked sternly, though oddly enough it seemed to be more directed at Konoka than it did Tsuna.

' _Odd'_ , Tsuna thought seeing some red fade from the girl's cheeks as she nodded embarrassedly, _'is she some kind of troublemaker, she didn't seem the sort, just a little mischievous, maybe that's it. If that's the case, it's not just me making Kuzunoha so stern… those poor elementary schoolers.'_

"That or he really is just clueless" Yue deadpanned at the boy not picking up on other-Konoka's flustering from _his_ actions not Kuzunoha's reprimand

Reborn gave a dramatic sigh, "Even with Hyper Intuiton, Dame-Tsuna will be Dame-Tsuna"

"Shut up!"

"Great" he said out loud looping an arm around the younger girl's shoulder and pulling her close to him in a very Iemitsu Sawada show of lack of personal space, "Then lead on Master Tour Giver"

To Tsuna's small surprise and enjoyment, she merely grinned up at him before taking his hand and skating forward, though there was the tiniest sheen of red on the back of her neck; apparently that getting lost along the way comment had dug closer to home than he'd thought.

A small part of him couldn't help noticing she had the aura necessary for one possessing **Sun Flames** , though he made sure to stomp down on his own **Sky Flames** natural inclination to pull her towards him, at least not until after he'd met with the Dean and gauged his temperament.

"So Tsuna-san, is this your first time in Japan, though you have a very Japanese sounding name, are your parents from here?" she asked as they pulled into the building, her skates thumping across carpet.

"I grew up in Japan, though I left and finished school in Italy."

Truth, he'd come to realize that attending school in a small town in Japan, running the Seashell Corporation, Mafia Tutoring with Reborn, physical training with the other Arcobaleno, and flying around the world to take care of various crisis was just not realistically possible. After middle school he officially attended a school for rich kids in Italy with busy lives and so made schedules that catered to their availability. He graduated a year early.

Tsuna jerked as if he had been slapped, and stared dumbstruck at his other self's accomplishment

"As expected of Tsuna-sama!"

"Extreme determination Sawada!"

"Nice Tsuna!"

Tsuna said nothing to the praise, just nodded dumbly and stared at himself, _'Was this real, what happened to him?'_

"Become a Mafia Boss and find out" Reborn whispered like a devil in his ear, reading his thoughts

"Would you stop that!"

"Oh, then welcome back" she said

" Good to be back, though if you're wondering about my looks" he said vaguely gesturing to his unnatural colored eyes noticing the second look she took at his facial features, "Both of my parents are mixed, half Italian."

Also, true if vaguely misleading, even with his ancestor moving to Japan, they'd kept a strong connection to those who also had Italian blood.

Iemitsu was born from three generations of couplings of half Italians making him one by technicality, his mother however surprisingly enough just happened to have an Italian father.

Though his eyes were what made people question his nationality more than things like his skin and hair tone, which was what had most likely caught her attention; a pure Vongola trait and a result of mutations Flames sometimes had on the body.

"How cool" she said as they came upon a set of big double doors, before pouting and continuing, "All I have is pure Japanese all the way around."

Once more acting more on beaten in instinct on how to behave when around a young woman, especially a lady of some status, Tsuna broke happy idiot character and gently caressed a stray lock of hair and smiled.

"Then the Japanese have created a treasure", meaning it whole heartedly, Konoka was a beautiful girl, who'd grow to be lovely woman, especially with a smile like that.

Konoka blushed shyly before brushing away his hand with a pleased smile and Tsuna smiled back.

Both teenagers blushed furiously at the whistles and cat calls from ( _most_ ) of their friends

' _A woman no matter who she is, wants to be complimented Tsunayoshi, no matter what she may say otherwise or how she may react to said compliment.'_ His grandfather had once told him when Tsuna was still just an insecure little boy too afraid to tell the girl he liked how pretty she was to him, _'And every woman has something beautiful about them, you merely have to look for it; though having a little Intuition to help us along never hurt anyone, eh?'_

 _'Thank you, Grandpa,'_ Tsuna couldn't help but think to himself, as he let his eyes flicker to Konoka, Kyoko, and even Haru. What? He was still a teenage guy after all

When the door opened to a huge office Tsuna was greeted to the sight of an elderly man with the biggest eyebrows he'd ever seen, one of which appeared to be twitching violently as it took in Tsuna and Konoka- wait, did he just hear him say gigolo genes?

' _Nah, couldn't be, nervousness is getting to me'_ Tsuna thought, he could still be such a Dame sometimes.

"Grandpa were here" Konoka announced for them both

"So, I can see that, Tsunayoshi Sawada, so you've arrived I see" the old man said with a stroke of his beard and a calculating gleam in his eye, "early even, one wonders what you've been wandering around doing all this time."

"Merely being captivated by my new home for the year Dean" Tsuna said back in the same coy, _'aren't we just a pair of harmless ducks'_ tone the Dean used, while reminding him that the campus would be his to roam for the next year anyway "this truly is a beautiful school, Headmaster Konoe."

"Ho ho, I can hardly take credit for the school; it's been here since before even _I_ was born, but I'm glad you enjoyed your first impression" the Dean chuckled still stroking his beard, though Tsuna had a feeling he was laughing more at his subtle brass than he was his age, Tsuna smile turned just a bit more genuine, "Now before we pull up your information, I have something very important to discuss with you."

The Dean sat forward with a serious look in his barely visible beneath the brows eyes, and Tsuna felt himself stand a touch straighter.

"What do you think of my granddaughter, would you be interested in marrying her, I'm sure your grandfather would approve wholeheartedly." The Dean said in full seriousness and not even a second later was wacked in the head full force with a metal mallet courtesy of his granddaughter.

"Say yes!" class 3-A reporter/gossip hound cheered

"No!" Setsuna, Gokudera, and Haru all shouted her down

"What the heck, who just asks that to a stranger!?" Chisame said, somehow stunned that an old man was acting like her classmates

"Grandpa does that" Konoka said shrugging it off with nothing more than an exasperated sigh, before tilting her head up and speaking in a curious tone, "I think he even asked Negi once"

"Did he say yes!?" Asakura asked, immediately switching tracks

"NO!" Setsuna, Asuna, Ayaka, Evangeline, and several of the girls who had crushes on the boy shouted

"Is no one concerned she smacked her Grandpa with a mallet?" Tsuna whispered to Enma, when the two shared and incredulous glance

"Oh Grandpa, you jokester" the girl said with an oblivious smile even as she beaned a man with enough strength to cave a full-grown man's skull; Tsuna had a feeling Reborn would approve, come to think of it Nono would to, the man was adamant about setting Tsuna up.

"It's quite the generous offer Dean Konoe" Tsuna replied, even if Tsuna had little interest in pursuing a romantic relationship of any kind any time soon, "but I don't think your granddaughter is quite ready to get married at this time, so we'll have to put a pin in that."

Haruna gave an impressed whistle, that was actually pretty smooth on his part

It wasn't the first time some powerful man had all but offered his daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece to him, and Tsuna had long since learned all the proper responses to turn down someone without sounding like he was the one turning them down and rather someone else was at fault for the failure of the union.

Unfortunately, Tsuna felt he may have missed the ball somewhat on that one, because The Dean's eyes had glowed with an unholy light and he caught Konoka blushing and fiddling with the mallet in her hands.

Belatedly it occurred to Tsuna given the slapstick nature of the offer, that perhaps maybe Konoemon offering his granddaughter's hand in marriage may have been more common than some power-hungry Mafioso trying to get into Vongola Decimo's favor and that his response may have created an unnecessary misunderstanding that simply saying 'NO' wouldn't have.

"A wise decision, we'll reconvene on that later", Tsuna knew the man meant it, "Konoka could you give us a few minutes alone, I have to bring up some of Sawada-kun's personal information before you begin your tour."

For a moment Tsuna saw a spark of something flash in the young lady's eyes, before it was buried in an oblivious smile.

' _That one'_ , Tsuna thought eyes trailing the girl to the door, _'is far more observant than she appears'_

Almost unconsciously everyone eyed the smiling girl, the majority dismissing other-Tsuna's suspicions. Those that knew her however…

Just how much did the "oblivious" daughter of two extremely powerful magic families _really_ see?

As the door closed a momentary stillness passed through the room as neither occupant spoke into the sudden silence.

' _It's time to begin'_

Closing his eyes while still facing the door and taking a deep silent breath, Tsunayoshi Sawada went to sleep and Vongola Decimo awoke dark eyes now with the tiniest glowing embers, he turned to face the Head of the Kanto Magic Association.

With other Konoka leaving the room, there was another shift in the Viewing room, as its occupant reacted to Tsuna's shift in mood- just like the meeting with the Vindice

But this time it would be from the point of view from the Decimo

"Vongola Decimo, Timoteo has spoken with me at length about you" President Konoe intoned, "He said nothing of your propensity to wander like a curious cat."

 ** _Challenge_** _,_ Decimo's mind whispered _, **Subtle light, not angry**_

Takahata noted the shift between "Tsuna" and "Decimo" and exchanged glances with his fellow teachers, who also sat up; interestingly enough the Vongola kids looked unsurprised with split between personas, but sat alert nonetheless

"Cosa Nostra is a dangerous place" Decimo smiled politely, ( _empty, lifeless_ ), "those who would do business with us must be more so. I'm just an overly cautious scaredy cat, Head Konoe"

"Perhaps you should find the courage to curb that behavior, young one, not all of my subordinates will be so understanding as Toko Kuzunoha" the Dean replied sternly

' _Don't wander into things you have no business wandering into boy, you are a guest'_

"I've always been a cautious individual Association Head, I'll try to be more respectful, but learned habits that've said my life are hard to break; I'd suggest you get used to me" Decimo pressed, unwilling to be cowed

' _You invited a known prince of chaos into your home old man, what did you think would happen? Deal with the consequences cause I'm not changing'_

Konoemon glared, "That's hardly a good way to start new friendships; if this is to work I really don't need to worry about you digging around into this and that."

' _We have a deal, but how am I to know you won't stab me in the back boy'_

"Will you have no accountability", he said harshly breaking the game of subtleties

Nose twitch, **Magic is Flaring** , V.H.I whispered and Decimo nearly, _nearly_ , tensed; no squeeze to the gut, **Malice faked**

A nervous thrill went through the room, but past experience had finally gotten occupants to stop reaching for weapons

Decimo remained silent unrepentant

' _He's testing me, testing my temperament'_ Vongola thought to himself, _'He says how can I trust, but he means how far can I push you, how important is this to you'_

"It is not my wish to upset anyone" Decimo stated with the same calm ( _empty_ )polite voice he'd had since the conversation had turned to this, and he met Konoemon's glare with his own emotionless one, "We can try not to step on each other's toes or we can glare and hinder each other every step of the way. But I can only be what I am, and you requested for someone of what I am because I am what you need. I will not change."

At Konoemon's tense look, Decimo let out an exhausted sigh and allowed some genuine emotion, genuine sadness, genuine Tsunayoshi Sawada to enter his voice, "I'm here to save people, **your** people" Decimo looked up and met the old Mage's eyes, "I'm sorry if you won't be able to trust me, but know that even if you don't, I'll still help them."

A long silence once more reined the room, a very long silence, and Decimo briefly wondered if he would have to return to Vongola Nono and begin handling this project from a different angle, perhaps with a different Association.

' _Kansai Association has deep issues with Kanto'_ he thought clinically, _'Even if the heads are related by marriage, perhaps the younger Konoe will be able to accept the cold fire of Decimo, along with the warmth of Tsuna and Serafino.'_

"You'll help but you'll do it your way is that what I'm to understand your saying Decimo?" the elder man said finally breaking the silence.

Clearing in the head, **Test Passed**

"That's correct" Decimo smiled his pointlessly polite smile

"Well I hardly see how that counts for the avoiding stepping on each other's toes option" he said with a lift of his massive brow.

"I'm not completely selfish Head Konoe, I'm sure we'll find appropriate compromises for certain things" Decimo answered reasonably.

"And wandering around my school?" white eyebrow still raised

"To a coffee shop, because your subordinates couldn't keep a proper eye out for someone light footed?" brown eyebrow mirroring it.

 _Proof it and I'll stop_

"Ho, ho, I guess that's that than, though I think it be best we not inform Toko of your description of her…and your planning on doing that anyway aren't you" Konoemon deadpanned

' _Of course, I am, the happy idiot mask she's already attributed to me would be completely in character to do that'_ Decimo thought, _'And it will be so much fun getting on her nerves and trolling her Reborn Style'_ , Tsuna Sawada added.

Decimo merely smiled

"Well then, let's get started with your project" the Dean sighed

Without the presence of a possible enemy in the room, Decimo calmly faded back into Tsuna/Serafino.

"Let's hear it" Tsuna smiled interestedly, "I know grandpa said it would take some time to get in touch with the appropriate authorities on both ends, but you had some groundwork you wanted to get started on?"

"Whoo, that was pretty tense huh" Makie sighed out a huge breath, along with her classmates

"Not as bad as the other meeting, but some strain there de gozaru" Kaede smiled lightly, at her classmates reflexively flexing their limbs as the moment passed

"Can you do that yet Tsuna?" Negi asked his new friend curiously

Tsuna opened his mouth to explain he needed pills or a Dying Will bullet to use his power, before remembering The Being, continually reminding them that none of this was really real.

If this was all in their head, then…

Burnt orange eyes gained a soft amber glow

" _Yes_ " a soft voice swept through the room; simultaneously apathetic and confident in its own power, momentarily capturing the attention of every single resident…

But as quick as it came, it was gone, and Tsuna blinked and coughed

"I mean, yeah, sometimes" he coughed, not meeting the awed, curious gazes of the room- focusing on the Vision

Konoemon blinked briefly but continued, reaching in his desk to pull out _Oh God please no,_ yet _another_ folder for him to study.

"What I have in here are a basic list of goods; products of various natures the various Mage Associations are willing to begin trading as well as a list of things they know you have available that they want in return." He said sliding the folder to Tsuna who opened it and began scanning it right away.

"I believe that can mostly wait until you've had the chance to recover, settle in, and share with your people whom I'm sure have a similar list-oh you have it right here" The Dean exclaimed as Tsuna slid him a packet from his own bag.

"Do I have all your contact information for questions?" Tsuna asked not taking his eyes off the list of treasures the Magicals were willing to part with; he really needed to dive into this magical world as soon as possible so he could determine the worth of these things.

The project was a responsibility of Tsuna and his people, but it would be a herculean effort at the minimum and Hayato was already vetting people to start up an entire task force for this. Tsuna in turn would be providing vitally needed allies, numbers, information and values.

"What does it mean Tsuna and _his_ people?" asked Konoka curiously, "Aren't they all Vongola?"

"Vongola is big" Reborn stated blandly, "There are multiple factions that run the organization. Tsuna's inner circle" here he paused to gesture around the room, "will take over the whole of the organization one day, but until then, their just one more faction- albeit an extremely important one.

"They have to proof themselves, and lobby support and general resources like everybody else" Reborn continued his explanation, making sure both his students and Mahora's would have an understanding for some of Tsuna's more roundabout actions "The Ninth put Tsuna in charge, the only people that _have_ to answer to him, are those who've already given their loyalty; otherwise he has to go back to the Ninth and justify his actions or funds for anything he can't get on his own."

Satisfied and thoughtful the group returned to the vision

"Ah yes, it's in here" the Dean said slapping another soul crushingly large folder on top of the one he was studying, Tsuna thought the man was taking far too much enjoyment of that. "These are the papers that have everything you need to know as a student."

"…Thank you" Tsuna replied just a touch strained, opening to the page that had his classes; regardless of his mission Tsuna was still looking to increase his education ( _or at least that's what Reborn told him as he aimed a gun to his head_ ) and Mahora was a damned great school that was hell of difficult to get into if you weren't rich, a genius, or magically/Ki inclined.

"English Literature" Tsuna spoke aloud, questioning the odd class in between several business and political classes

"For your part time job earning college credit" he answered, referring to the Alpha class that Tsuna's grandfather wanted him making connections to.

Mahora may be a magic academy, but on average only one in fifteen was magically aware even if not especially battle ready.

2A ( _soon to be 3A_ ) was different; a part of a long-standing tradition of having one "Alpha" class for each grade that was made up of incredibly talented future leaders of the Mage world. Though 2A seemed to be made up of especially brilliant whiz kids if they had a " _AAA-class_ fighter _"_ as their previous homeroom teacher and Negi Springfield as their next one.

3A gave a cheer at their description of being an "alpha class"; Chisame and Evangeline's disparaging comments of "these idiots?" were drowned out

"Right, when do I start that?"

Dean Konoe reached behind his desk _once again_ to pull out _another something to read_.

Tsuna felt his soul leave his body for just a moment

"As soon as the next grading period is up, and Negi's been tested. You'll transfer in as the student teacher working for college credit." The Dean answered pleasantly

"…Got it" Tsuna groaned out, before turning his eyes to the small class register in his hands.

' _Funky hair'_ was Tsuna's first somewhat hypocritical thought, followed closely by _'cute'_

"Why thank you Tsu-na-yo-shi ~ kun~" Haruna "fanned" herself at the compliment

He had a feeling if Hana was here she would have raged about female architypes, the same way she used to rage about how he and his guardians were all a collection of male architypes.

' _Ultimate Uke my ass, I'm manly too damn it'_

Said girl merely snorted, yeah right

He idly wondered if those with magical backgrounds had magic effect their genetics the same way those with powerful Flames or came from Flame powerful families did.

Tsuna's dark orange eyes, Xanxus' dark red, Hayato and his sister had silver and pinkish hair from his mother and their father respectively, who both came from long lines of **Storm Flame Users**. Bermuda's weird face and body had been born from ridiculously intense **Cloud Flames** he'd once had before they blackened. Finally, was Ryohei who was one of the few people in the world born with his **Sun** **Flames** permanently active; the strain on his infant body had turned his once orange brown hair pure white with shock.

"A final word if you will, Mr. Sawada"

"Tsuna" Tsuna couldn't help interrupt, "Where going to be working together for a while, the very least we can do is call each other by our first names."

"Very well, Tsunayoshi" and Tsuna manfully pouted at his full name, "I don't know too much about your ability to 'pull' people…" he trailed off meaningfully, and Tsuna nodded expecting where this was going.

"It's like a radio Konoe-san" Tsuna explained and saw the old man try to contain his interest, "I send out a signal, a signal that's me _Tsunayoshi Sawada_ , only people who are already tuned to that signal will pick up on it and be pulled, people that have character traits matching someone named _Tsunayoshi Sawada_ "

He was very careful to omit exactly what character traits someone who could match _Tsuna Sawada_ would be; asking someone what core traits their **Sky** valued was a deeply personal thing after all.

"I see, I've never had **Harmony** explained to me quite that way" Konoemon said stroking his beard, "That puts part of my mind at ease."

"It's not mind control sir", Tsuna guessed what the old man had been nervous about.

"Even so, I know you were sent here to make allies-"

"It's also involuntary" Tsuna cut him off knowing again what he was thinking, "but I'll try to keep it from pulling Konoka or Negi, though I doubt I'll be able to pull in Negi"

"…right", Konoemon replied face becoming more deadpan, "Why-"

"He's a **Sky** sir" Tsuna cut him off once again, barely keeping the smile off his face. It was a small revenge for assigning him so much reading homework, Konoemon was now officially on 'The List'.

"Not **Active** , not trained, but the aura is there-I saw him sneeze off that girl's skirt in the quad" when he saw Konoe about to open his mouth and most likely how he met Negi. This skirt sneeze was true, but he'd rather avoid letting the older man realize exactly how close he gotten to his prized staff member just yet, "If it's anyone you should be worried about its him".

"Me?" Negi asked surprised, "Wait- I'm a Flame User?"

"Yes you" Asuna answered dryly, not surprised they thought the boy would be a troublemaker, "And come to think of it what's with that, I thought Flames and Magic didn't mix?"

"We haven't seen magic, so we don't know how they do or do not mix" Fon answered speaking up for the first time to the rest of the room, "But everyone has an aura for Flames, being able to use or manifest those Flames is extremely rare. Your friend likely just has the aura and properties of a **Sky** "

"Young mysterious newcomer, reasonably handsome, and determined" Tsuna ticked off Negi's traits, "put him around hormonal young people at an age where they're looking for adventure ( _oh let's say 14_ ), people that are all fiercely independent, and at least _touched_ by the supernatural and he'll start attracting his elements like moths to a flame."

Tsuna dictated slowly and obviously tapping the class registers in his hands as he pretended not to see Konoemon grow paler and paler.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they would be willing to walk through fire for him by the time the year's up, and hell if they're the opposite gender they may even develop an attraction to him at that hormonally unbalanced age." Tsuna continued twisting the knife, "But where would he even find a bunch of whiz kids like tha- oh"

"Whaddaya know, there's a reason for that" Asuna mumbled after a brief pause, eyeing the 'huh' faces on her classmates

"I-I think I might want to keep that bit of info, to myself."

Tsuna had a feeling the Dean meant he should keep that information from someone else specifically

"It couldn't hurt" he agreed, "Before I go I should clarify, Konoka has no idea about this whole merging of the worlds thing, right?"

Konoemon looked a little startled but before he could answer Tsuna continued on, "Oh, she doesn't know about the magical world at all does she? You want me to keep that secr-Ah, her parents do but you don't, so don't expose it but it's not a major loss if I do, right?"

"…"

"Yes, you can answer, and no I'm not reading your mind."

"…"

"Yes V.H.I. is a damned life hacks, I take it I should get to Konoka before she turns to stone out there ne?"

"…"

"Okay, I'll call you later Konoemon" as Tsuna got up to close the door he heard the old man mutter 'cheeky brat'. Ah the little vengeances, they got you through the day.

When he made it out into the hallway he smiled at the waiting princess,

"You ready to go?"

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' _Mercenary'_ Setsuna Sakurazaki thought as she slashed her bokken down with a precision born from years of dedicated training, _'Or some other form of hired killer'._

"Hey it's Se-chan!" Konoka cheered, at the sight of her friend practicing

"Yeah" Setsuna mumbled not as enthusiastic as she read the darker turns of her other's thoughts

It was the most Setsuna had been able to gleam from the small amount of information her sword trainer had been able to impart to her during their conversation three weeks ago.

Toko-sensei had shown up to their usual training session one afternoon nearly a month ago fuming; after telling Setsuna it would be in her best interest to complete her own training at a significant distance from her and proceeding to tear apart their training area, the older woman sat her down for a talk.

Their practice matches would be intensified for the foreseeable future as an _important_ (Toko-sensei had seemed to be at odds with _that_ particularly stressed word) individual would be attending Mahora at the start of the new semester.

"Oooh, I see where this is going" Seruhiko mock winced, as Kuzunoha didn't meet her friends' knowing gazes

This person would be involved in one of the Dean's "pet projects", as she called it. What that project was would be classified for the foreseeable future, as was information about Mahora's newest resident, but it didn't take a genius to pick up on the fact that her sensei was less than pleased.

The visitors name was Tsunayoshi Sawada, she had made sure to burn the name into her memory, and he would be arriving to the campus sometime today; a bit more wheedling into her Sensei's mood revealed that the man was apparently _very_ dangerous and involved with some not so legal business in a foreign country.

Tsuna whined at his description even as Hibari, Mukuro, and even Lambo snorted at his description as a "dangerous individual"

Setsuna was honestly shocked that someone like The Dean would willingly allow such a person on to the campus where his granddaughter attended school and that was when Toko had dropped the bomb on her head.

Not only would he be in the vicinity of The Dean's granddaughter, _her Ojou-sama that she had vowed to look after and had protected with her life every single day for over half a dozen years now_ , but he would be in stationed in their classroom as an instructor, literally in grabbing distance of her and all the friends she and Ojou had made over the years.

' _Has the Dean lost his mind!'_ Setsuna thought to herself as she slashed her frustrations out on invisible opponents, which may or may not have started to resemble the elderly man, _'Had he forgotten **why** Konoka-Ojousama had been sent to Mahora in the first place! Did he truly expect a mere business arrangement to protect her from the greed of those who would use her for the power that slept deep inside!'_

Setsuna cringed at her teacher's hearing her… less than pleasant thoughts at their boss

"Your just being protective" Konoka assured her, speaking loud enough that the whole room would take the hint to 'shut up'

Setsuna nodded, but internally prayed that her part would hurry and end; consequently, her respect for the Sawada boy having his thoughts broadcasted the most, suddenly went _way_ up

Though she would never dare say such a thing out loud about the wise old leader, especially when a look must have made its way to her face the first time she was giving this information, because Toko had quickly reminded her that they would **NOT** do anything to defy or get in the way of The Dean's (and more importantly their the _Magic Association Head's_ ) plan.

Though the warning was sharp, there had been bitterness to the older women's voice that made Setsuna think she had tried to do exactly that and had been appropriately scolded for it.

Even still, Setsuna and several other magically aware students mainly from the high school and University divisions where Gandofini-sensei and Akashi-Sensei taught respectively, would be made aware of his general presence and be asked to keep an eye on him.

The only reason Setsuna as a middle schooler was being told despite her age was because of the fact that he would be interacting with her class specifically and Toko had vouched for Setsuna her on behalf.

Thus, their training schedule had been increased and Toko pushed Setsuna farther than she ever had. The rare **_Shinmei-Ryu style_** , like all fighting styles really, was not something that could essentially be quote unquote "mastered"; _techniques_ however could be. Evidence by her finishing the _Zanganken-Ni-no-Tachi_ (stone cutting sword, Second Strike).

As it was however, sword fighting was an art form; there was _always_ room for improvement, and Setsuna was doing the best she could to get the maximum improvement in as minimum amount of time possible, hence her current frustration venting exercises.

"Don't start a fight Setsuna, HA!"

The dust around the teen bodyguard began to pick up with each swirl and slash of the wooden practice sword.

"He's not one of Konoka's, HA! unwanted suitors that you can, HA! scare away when you think no one's looking, HA! HA!, HA!

An actual mini wind tornado began to form around the girl as the intensity of her strikes increased.

"He's a guest and we HA! need to show him HA! The ut-HA-most HA RESPECT, HAA!"

She finished off with one final slash and a gust of wind slammed against a tree several yards away with a muted 'whoof' sound, even chipping tiny pieces of bark off the trunk.

Ku-Fei let out a whistle

"There no KI in that strike" the Chinese ken pao practitioner commented impressed at the other-younger-Setsuna's progress at the time, "You must be very angry"

"Ah, thanks Ku", Setsuna grimaced at the well-meaning compliment

"You scare off my suitors" Konoka asked curiously, making the half-blood blush

Setsuna stood alone in the clearing panting before she looked up at the position of the sun and decided that her impromptu training session was running long, stowed away the practice bokken in a nearby baseball bag. She usually carried it around school on her hip since carrying real blades around in broad daylight was too conspicuous, and it was modified to be heavier and more damaging than the average stick of wood. Though recently she had taken to carrying around her real sword, ( _Yuunagi_ ), in the same baseball bat bag as well in preparation for the HONORED GUEST'S arrival.

Setsuna tossed the bag over her shoulder and began heading to her next class, Ojou had a separate Art class going on right now, that Setsuna wouldn't have to worry about her for the time be-

Right there across the quad was Konoka-Ojou, laughing and skating on her merry way. That was hardly unusual in and of itself, what was unusual was the older suit wearing teen male walking beside her with their arms looped like he was escorting her to the theatre.

 _'Omiai'_ , she thought considering the immaculate suit.

Setsuna's eyes narrowed protectively at the male, but unlike Ojou's usual Omiai, she didn't appear to be trying to actively get away from him, and her smile wasn't strained, and he was significantly closer in age to her than the others.

It also wasn't a weekend and the Dean hadn't informed her that Konoka-Ojou, would be with an unknown male for this time; she hadn't even changed out of her school clothes. Heavily suspicious, Setsuna made to go 'observe' this unknown male when a voice broke her concentration.

"Setsuna-kun"

The disguised yokai turned to the sound of her name to see Takahata-sensei, watching her from a few feet away.

"Sensei", she nodded politely keeping her eye on the progress of the young couple

"Why don't you come with me, the Dean wants to have a quick word with you." Takahata-sensei "asked" her.

Frowning she turned her head back to where her Ojou was currently making her way off into the distance with a complete stranger.

"Konoka will keep; our young guest will keep an eye out on her" Takahata spoke, his eyes flickering to the pair in the distance.

With no small amount of reluctance, she nodded and followed the teacher back to the administrative office, but not before subtly sending off a paper spirit to keep an eye on things in her absence. For some reason the word guest had sent an alarm bell in her head, and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like this meeting.

She was correct

"I'm sorry Headmaster-sama, I'm not sure I understood you" Setsuna bit out, barely able to keep her seething inside, though she had a feeling the elder man wasn't buying it.

"Ah the teenage years" Seruhiko said wistfully as Setsuna groaned loudly at her other self's behavior, "What a horrible time"

His comment got several nods from the other adults and even a few teenagers themselves

"Tch, try infancy" Lal Mirch commented unimpressed, while the Arcobaleno gave their own sympathetic grumblings

"I've asked Konoka to escort a Tsunayoshi Sawada, your future student-teacher, around the campus –city for the next few days. I intend to nurture a friendship between the two for future business purposes" The old man responded evenly watching her with a calculating look, "I had wanted you not to worry or become too suspicious of the young man suddenly hanging around my granddaughter, but it seems given your reaction to his mere name, someone's already divulged classified information to you"

At the Dean's serious tone, she reigned in her own disbelief to protect her sword trainer, "I only know of his name and a vague idea of what his profession is, Headmaster-sama. No sensitive information was passed along to me."

"Sensitive enough, apparently if you're already chomping at the bit to go hunt him down" the Dean said in a displeased tone.

"Headmaster-sama" she said trying to regain her usual cool disposition but was somewhat struggling with the thought of some dangerous individual so close to her Ojou without chaperone, or just close to her at all.

"No excuses" the Dean said with a raised hand, "I need you to be open and thoughtful Setsuna. To make decisions based on critical thought. This is more important than you realize, and a lot of good people are counting on these initial business ventures going smoothly"

The man's eyes then turned mischievous, "Who knows, maybe if we leave them alone enough they'll get up to a little 'something something' and we can get a shotgun wedding out of this; No Omiai necessary!" the acclaimed head of the Kanto Magic Association cheered.

"Oh grandpa" Konoka whined, rubbing her eyes along with Tsuna, who was so far past mortified he couldn't even whine anymore himself

Setsuna could only stare in disbelief and wonder when the world had gone mad.

"Headmaster, with all due respect I urge you to reconsider" she cried

"I shall not" came his prompt response, "I have considered this at length for many weeks now. If you cannot give him your respects, then at least use that big brain I know you have and refrain from any thoughtless actions based on pride."

The old man once more took a serious tone, "This is not a request but an order Setsuna"

Burying her outrage and hurt pride, Setsuna gave a courteous bow; loyal samurai to a respected lord not her own, and swiftly turned and made her way out the door.

She didn't slam it, but oh how she wished she could

' _I will protect the Ojou'_ Setsuna thought furiously bounding down the hallway _, 'I will not fail again because of mere orders, this I swear'_

"Well she's dead" Evangeline commented as Setsuna just sighed that the nightmare was over

"That's harsh, Eva" Asuna scolded

"Don't call me that!" Evangeline snapped at the use of her precious nickname, "And no it isn't, she's gonna pick a fight with someone who's way out of her league."

"We haven't seen him fight yet" Mana commented, though she was leaning closer to McDowell's assessment, she hated assumptions- they got you dead

"No" Evangeline conceded, " but a man can be measured by the quality of his enemies, just as much as his allies. Do the Vindice or even Konoemon for that matter, strike as people that would treat someone weak as an equal, or a threat to be weary of?"

They did not, and the silence in the room said everyone in the room knew it

"Like I said, the crow's dead" Evangeline nodded at her own assessment, while Setsuna groaned

"I'm sure he won't hurt-, seriously maim-,… he won't kill you, Sakurazaki-san" Tsuna tried to reassure her, only to remind himself that he'd done all those things to Mukuro, Xanxus, and Byakuran, and kept fumbling

"That's not to reassuring Tsuna" Enma pointed out, when his answer only depressed both girl and boy further

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"Is that going to be a problem" Takamichi asked as the prideful little bodyguard not quite slammed the door

"You tell me, you've been looking after them for nearly a year and a half now" his boss asked back, and Takamichi thought back to his long early morning lessons, mentally flipping through the faces to the little sword girl Eishun had discipled.

' _Ku-Fei falling asleep, princess staring ahead trying to focus but clearly not understanding, Chao not even trying to pay attention because she already knew everything, -Ah yes, Sakurazaki apathetic face but focused eyes refusing to stay locked into place, shifting to the doors and exits and thrice as much at-'_

"Likely" Takamichi answered honestly, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it as he spoke "but from what I've seen of the meeting he's a good kid with a good heart and so is she, enough time around each other and they'll come to see that"

The mentioned girls twitched as they realized, just how much their teacher's probably saw of them, and unanimously decided to at least look more alert in class

"Smoking already Takamichi?" the Dean rose an eyebrow to him, and Takamichi merely smiled.

"It loosens up the old hinges" he replied, making a show of stretching his joints, "Besides with Negi taking a class, it frees up time for me to do my other job, I need to be as loosened up as possible"

"That's not how it works Takamichi" Shizuna scolded smacking the man in the back of the head, which the man merely laughed off

Underneath them, Asuna twitched at the familiarity

His other job was not as rewarding as teaching young people some life skills and helping them grow as people. It was dark, mostly depressing work, which required a cold mind and a colder heart.

And like that the lighter mood drained, as it seemed to do at a moment's notice in the Viewing Room

"You say our young ambassador has a good heart?" the old dean looked at him questioningly, not disagreeing but wanting his opinion.

"As soon as you stopped challenging him he backed off." Takamichi shrugged, he'd honestly been expecting someone a little more cut throat and ruthless. "His grandfather was more intimidating"

He said it jokingly, but it was true, the old don had a laid-back attitude during most of their meeting, but there had never been a time when those amber eyes didn't look like they were in complete and utter control of everything that went on around him. The threat and the end of the meeting as well; Takamichi had been around the most powerful people both worlds had to offer since he was a boy, but that threat, something in the way the words echoed in his mind and out loud at the same time was nerve wracking.

Konoemon had said something about The Dying Will Flames being able to touch a person's very soul; Takamichi believed him.

The youth sitting here had been a similar but whole heartedly different beast all together. Not fangless, and the smile he'd had on during the beginning,

' _It seemed so genuine'_ Takamichi thought even as he professed himself a dangerous untrustworthy thing variable that they could either take or leave, _'that's probably what made it so unnerving, even more so then a physical threat, it's not natural to be able smile like that'_

Which made Takamichi wonder if there was some kind of split in the boy's mind, to switch between the two personas so seamlessly, because Takamichi was one of the best at reading people, and that young man had not been putting up an act as he rushed to greet Konoka or wailed over the huge amount of paperwork Dean Konoe had dumped on him.

This struck a little too close for Takamichi as he thought about his own youth

' _He's not a child that needs your guidance Takamichi Takahata,'_ he scolded himself, _'you're not Gateau and he's not a young you'_

"Uh, is anybody else lost?" asked, getting nods from the other kids; the less… innocent minded, where connecting the fact that Takahata was into things far more dangerous than teaching or bodyguarding. The first clue being the Dean- _the Association Head_ \- kept him close for a meeting with the Vongola Decimo

Even so he heard himself open his mouth "I'll keep an eye out for him"

"I thought you said he's a good kid" the Dean said stroking his beard

"So are the kids who shoplift in town to put food on the table" Takamichi answered back wryly, though that hadn't been in the way he meant to keep an eye on him.

"Very well, if you want the extra work" the Dean nodded approvingly, "Perhaps it will give young Sakurazaki some peace. I'm glad I can count on you on a good man like you, Takamichi."

 _Erase…Memories…don't die…_

" _What do we do now Takamichi?"_

" _We be happy, princess, we be happy"_

Takahata silently inhaled, as he and Shizuna glanced at Asuna, who otherwise didn't react to the flash of voices and memories, before trading glances

 _'Looks like no secrets are safe here'_ Takahata thought, he'd known it of course; but knowing and seeing were two different things, _'We made need to get some training in of our own, some secrets are too dangerous too have without the strength to protect it'_

' _A good man huh'_ Takamichi thought saying nothing, _'I really wish I could believe that Headmaster, but I'm just a toy soldier'_

 **Sweet baby Jebus, this Reading is longer than the actual chapter.**

 **50 FREAKING PAGES!**

 **I don't want to do this anymore, but with this chapter outta the way I can go back to my other fics. I gotta promotion (sort of) at work, and my time is being eaten up, so I can only give so much to what is essentially a hobby. I won't be typing any faster, but other fics have shorter chapters so maybe you'll see more updates? No promises, I'm terrible at this.**

 **Until next time, J. signing out**


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